


Power Rangers Guardians of Gaia

by J_A_Phillips



Category: Power Rangers
Genre: Elemental Magic, Gen, Giant Robots, Monster of the Week, Monsters, Parallel Universes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-09
Updated: 2017-02-21
Packaged: 2018-09-23 04:11:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 21,484
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9640199
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/J_A_Phillips/pseuds/J_A_Phillips
Summary: An ancient realm tied to the natural elements of the world is in peril, and only five college students can save it before the evil threatening it can attack Earth. They are the Guardians of Gaia! Mostly OCs, though references to past Rangers, characters, and locations may occur, as well as later cameos. Rated for fantasy violence, mild language, and some suggestive themes.





	1. Guardians of Gaia, AWAKEN! Part 1

**For Emmybomber.**

* * *

_Long ago, there existed a hidden realm called Gaia. It was the source of a great mystical energy tied to the natural elements of the world, like fire and water and wind. It was a safe haven for peace-seeking folk, be they humans, animals, or other forms of life. However, as the realm possessed mystical energies tied to all the natural elements, there existed one that fed off evil thoughts and, over time, tried to consume all others: The element of darkness. Fortunately, there existed a group of Guardians that protected Gaia from the dark, using a powerful silver light that caused the darkness to withdraw before it. No force of evil could match it. But when the time came for the final battle, the light vanished, and the Guardians similarly disappeared into the spreading dark._

_None live in the world of humans that know of what happened to Gaia on that fateful day. However, its story was passed down as legend throughout many families. But all too often, mankind seeks to uncover the truth behind most legends. For Gaia, that day is fast approaching..._

* * *

Nikki Markson let out a sigh as she flopped back onto the grass of the open field around her. She'd pretty much worn herself completely out in her karate class, and was more than happy to lay back and relax. Feeling tranquil and tired as she was, with the wind and sun across her dark skin, she couldn't help but let her eyes slowly close, nearly drifting off to sleep.

As she was about to, though, Nikki saw the image of a red crystal in her mind's eye, shimmering brightly. From within it, a large bird seemingly made of flame suddenly appeared, which screeched at Nikki so loudly, she immediately bolted straight up, panting hard.

_That's the eighth time since I moved here!_ Nikki realized, clutching her chest. _What does it mean, anyway?!_

Reaching under her red t-shirt, Nikki pulled out the thing she just saw: A red crystal, attached to a chain necklace hung from her neck. She'd been carrying it for years, after her great-aunt had given it to her as a child and told her to guard it with her life and to never take it off. But now, ever since she moved to Silver Hills to attend college, she'd been having the same image of a phoenix of some sort coming from the crystal and screeching at her. The first two times were in her sleep, but since then, they'd been happening seemingly at random. And those eyes that the phoenix had. With every time the vision happened, those eyes looked more and more like it was trying to tell her something important.

_Ugh, thank you, great-aunt Hilda,_ Nikki thought as she fell back again. _Yer need to pass down some stupid family heirloom is gonna turn me into a freak someday..._

"Hey there!" a voice cried as suddenly the face of a girl appeared up over Nikki, causing her to yelp and roll away. Looking the young woman over, she looked to be a year older than herself, with blonde hair that was streaked pink and purple. She was wearing a violet long-sleeved shirt and sky blue jeans. Her eyes were fixed on Nikki's crystal, who, upon realizing this, quickly put it away under her shirt.

"Jeez, give a girl a heart-attack!" Nikki yelled, getting up and dusting her black knee-length jeans off. "Who are you, anyway?!"

"My name's Madilyn!" the blonde replied. "More importantly, today is your lucky day! You've got some kinda weird crystal, and I'M the head of the crystallography club!"

Nikki slowly began to squirm back a bit. "Okay...How does that make this my lucky day?"

"Well, 'cuz I know that look!" Madilyn explained, her face getting uncomfortably close to Nikki's. "That look that says you've got this weird crystal that you have no idea where it came from! Well, I bet'cha I can help you figure it out!"

Nikki smiled somewhat nervously. "Thanks anyway, but I can't let you do any kinda studying or tinkering with my crystal. See, it belonged to my great-aunt Hilda, and she told me never to let anything happen to it, that it was-"

"It was super-important to never take it off and guard with your life...!" Madilyn finished, the two girls looking completely mystified for a moment, until Madilyn suddenly got the biggest smile that Nikki had ever seen on a human being's face. "Oh my gosh, **oh my gosh, _OH MY GOSH!_** "

Without warning, Madilyn immediately grabbed hold of Nikki's wrist and hauled her back to the school, Nikki yelping and cursing the whole way as this seemingly insane woman dragged her past hundreds of students that looked at them like they were completely bonkers. Eventually, Madilyn stopped at a door near the dorms, opening it with a loud "YAHOO! She's here!"

Nikki looked at the people inside, all looking surprised to see her. One was a red-haired boy in a green t-shirt, black vest, and blue jeans leaning against the windowsill and reading a book about tornadoes while listening to music. One was a brunet boy wearing an orange long-sleeved shirt and blue cut-off jeans going through a scrapbook at the table, filled with pictures of himself at a farm with presumably his family. The last was a blonde girl in a blue tank-top, jeans, and glasses about Nikki's age playing World of Warcraft on the computer at the desk in the corner. Madilyn just looked to the group ecstatically, her chest puffed out proudly as she took in a deep breath.

"Attention, everybody!" Madilyn proclaimed. "Our fifth member has arrived!"

Nikki blinked in shock. "I...Wait, what?!"

* * *

Professor Charles Snyder huffed, making his way through the dark and murky tunnels. He'd come to this island, unmarked by most maps, because of rumours that the caverns deep in the mountain atop the island held artifacts dating back thousands of years, some possibly connected to the lost realm of Gaia that he'd been studying for decades. However, it had been two weeks since his expedition team arrived, and they'd found nothing.

"Hey, Dad!" the Professor heard his son, Drayden, yell from further down the tunnel. "Come and check this out!"

Charles rolled his eyes. He had no idea why he agreed to let Drayden come along. After all, the boy SHOULD have been starting college in Angel Grove. Instead, here he was, fussing over every single find, no matter how significant or insignificant it was. Then again, he supposed, he was very similar on his first expedition, so who was he to do anything but be patient with the lad.

"What is it, Drayden?" Charles asked, reaching his son, only to have his jaw drop at the sight. "...Oh my...!"

Sure enough, erected before them, was a large statue of a dragon, facing toward a unicorn carved into the wall. It looked like it was about to engage in combat with the unicorn, but at the same time, seemed apprehensive about it. The Professor reached a hand out and dusted the statue off, examining the density of the dust now left on his hand.

"This statue must've been carved centuries ago!" Charles declared. "Possibly even whole millenia!"

"So, you think this has anything to do with the Gaia legends?" Drayden inquired, looking the statue over.

"It's entirely possible, yes!" Professor Snyder answered, his eye suddenly falling on an indigo crystal embedded in the statue. "Wait, what's this?"

* * *

"Lemme introduce everyone!" Madilyn said to Nikki, ignoring how confused the girl was and pointing to each of the room's inhabitants one by one. "Tall and Irish at the window is Patrick, farm boy is Dirk, and that's Layla, my geeky little sister."

"Hey!" Layla whined. "Just 'cuz I'm a geek and your little sister doesn't mean that HAS to be my thing when you introduce me."

"What are you even doing, playing WoW?!" Madilyn demanded, stomping over to her younger sister. "I asked you to check out those crystal findings in Santa Anna!"

Patrick rolled his eyes, closing his book and walking over to Nikki. "Um, I'm really sorry about this, miss...?"

"Nichelle Markson," Nikki replied, "but everyone just calls me Nikki."

"Right!" Dirk suddenly piped up. "I saw you in fencing class the other day, and-"

"Whatever!" Madilyn interjected as she was giving Layla a noogie. "Starting today, Nikki here is our fifth member!"

"Whoa, time out," Nikki responded. "Why am I suddenly being dragged into this group?"

"Because you've got one of these!" Madilyn answered, reaching into her shirt and pulling out a violet crystal on a necklace, very similar to Nikki's.

Layla's eyes widened. "Wait, she's got one too?!"

Nikki just stood there, dumbfounded and confused. Sure enough, one by one, the others all pulled similar crystals on necklaces out: Patrick's was green, Layla's was blue, and Dirk's was orange. At the sight of this, Nikki pulled her own red one out, the others now intrigued by this turn of events.

"Whoa!" Dirk said, amazed. "Madilyn was right: There WAS gonna be another one besides Layla!"

"See?" Madilyn exclaimed proudly. "My intuition is never wrong!"

"Wait, what's going on?" Nikki demanded.

Patrick sighed, putting his book and headset down. "Last year, Madilyn started the crystallography club after three of us all met on campus with the same story: We were each given crystals from relatives that we were told to safe-guard and didn't know what they were for. So, she decided to start the club to research them, and we knew that Layla had one and would be joining when she finished high school, but Madilyn kept insisting that there might be another member, a fifth one, to join up."

"And you guys all thought I was crazy nutso," Madilyn accused.

"Actually, that would be most of the college campus that thought you were crazy nutso," Dirk corrected. "WE all thought you were just looking for an excuse to keep the club alive."

"Tch, whatever," Madilyn replied with a roll of her eyes, taking her necklace off and holding her crystal out. "The important thing is, we've got five members with five crystals, all from different places but with the same story. Now I'm SURE we can find the connection! C'mon, crystal bump!"

The other four all just looked at Madilyn like she was crazy, who just smiled at the lot of them, keeping her crystal gripped in her fist. "Don't leave me hangin'!"

Patrick pinched the bridge of his nose before removing his necklace, Dirk and Layla following suit. They all brought their fists together, their crystals gripped tightly in each. Nikki just looked at them all, still feeling a desire to up and take off. Still, she had to admit, after carrying her crystal for as long as she did, the idea of meeting others with crystals and trying to figure out where they all came from WAS enticing. So, with a little hesitance, she pulled her necklace off, crystal in her fist, and bumped it against the others'.

Before anyone could say or do anything, though, the instant their fists made connection, the crystals all lit up, and they could feel their hands kept where they were. A strong gust of wind seemed to shoot out from Patrick's, which slammed the door shut, just as currents of heat came off Nikki's, sparks shot off Madilyn's, drops of water dripped off Layla's, and the floor trembled under Dirk's feet. The five could only watch in fear at what was happening as the five crystals soon began creating a vortex of red, green, blue, orange, and violet light around them.

* * *

Suddenly, just as Drayden ran a finger across the indigo crystal in the statue, it began to sparkle, illuminating the cave. He found his hand almost magnetized to the statue, unable to leave it as the room became filled with indigo light. His father, who had been inspecting the unicorn carving, looked to his son in alarm as the cavern began to shake, quickly running over to him.

"Drayden, something's happening!" Professor Snyder yelled. "We have to get out of here!"

"I-I can't!" Drayden cried, unable to remove his hand from the statue. "I'm stuck!"

Charles looked on incredulously, but decided to try and grab Drayden's hand and pull it from the statue. Instead, however, a blast of indigo light shot out from the crystal, along with a thick, black smog that came from the statue's jaws, knocking him back against the wall. He groaned as he tried to pull himself up, but his body was becoming enveloped in the light and smoke.

"DAD!" Drayden yelled as the smog suddenly began to swirl around him too.

* * *

"What the heck's going on now?!" Nikki demanded, the red beams changing to resemble spinning streams of fire.

"I don't know!" Patrick yelled, the green energy becoming a whirlwind.

"This is getting scary!" Layla admitted, the blue light resembling a whirlpool.

"Everybody hang on to something!" Dirk suggested, the orange beams turning into a sand storm.

"GERONIMOOOOOOOOOOO!" Madilyn cried happily, the violet light becoming swirling lightning, and in one final flash of silver light, the five all disappeared from the room, crystals and all, leaving a star-shaped scorch mark on the floor in their absence.

* * *

Nikki moaned as her eyes opened, laying in the grass. She blinked as she felt the grass around her, and began to wonder if the past few minutes were some bizarre dream she had after passing out in the field. However, upon sitting up, she realized that wasn't the case at all. She wasn't at the college anymore, she was in the middle of a forest somewhere, and the grass wasn't even green, it was a rusty-looking red.

_The heck?_ Nikki wondered, getting to her feet and dusting herself off, only to notice the object on her right leg. Looking closer, she saw that it was some kind of gold and red blaster, with black straps keeping it holstered to her leg. Drawing it, she saw that the barrel resembled a bird's beak, almost like the phoenix she saw in her vision before.

_Okay, calm down,_ Nikki told herself as she felt freaked out. _Just think back: There was the crystallography club room, those people with the other crystals, and...Wait, my crystal!_

Reaching into her shirt, Nikki found that her crystal necklace was, in fact, back where it belonged. Still, while that was a relief to her, Nikki soon remembered that she'd taken it off. So, at some point between the freaky light show and waking up in the forest, someone had put her necklace back on and strapped some sort of blaster to her leg. She eyed her crystal suspiciously, only to see an image of the phoenix inside, staring back at her.

"What's happening?" Nikki demanded. "Just where the heck am I, anyway?!"

"I dunno, but I'm loving the sights so far!" a familiar voice answered. Spinning around, Nikki saw the source of it: Madilyn, who was admiring the forest around them in awe, and had a similar blaster strapped to her leg. At first, Nikki felt relieved that she was okay, but then began to feel very angry.

"You!" Nikki accused, stomping over. "You did this somehow, I KNOW you did!"

"I wish!" Madilyn countered. "This place looks amazing! And I gotta say, I love the accessories that go with it!"

"Maybe it's some kinda virtual reality simulation?" Nikki heard Layla suggest from behind a tree nearby. "Would explain the new tech we got outta nowhere. Oh hey, good to see you're up, Nikki!"

Nikki blinked. "Where are the boys?"

"They went ahead to find some way outta here," Layla explained, walking out from behind the tree to reveal that she too had a blaster holstered on her leg. "And I kept saying, 'If this IS a virtual reality simulation, then there's no way to just walk out of it', but no one ever listens to me, especially our gung-ho leader-"

"Gung WHAT?" Madilyn interjected, looking angry.

Layla rolled her eyes. "Not even close to what I meant, sis."

Nikki groaned, listening to the two argue. However, as they did so, she couldn't help but notice the shadow casted from the tree Layla had walked out behind begin to stretch across the ground. In fact, it looked ever-so-much like a hand, even more-so when, to Nikki's astonishment, it actually came up out of the ground, looking to claw at Layla's ankle. Without even thinking, Nikki instinctively held her blaster out, aiming for the hand.

"Layla, behind you!" Nikki shouted, opening fire on the hand with energy bolts just as Layla leaped to her left. Once shot, the hand ripped clean out of the shadow, as did the rest of its body. It was bipedal, almost human-like in shape, but it was ink black, with a single red eye in the centre of its head, extremely lanky-like, and its fingers were long and pointed like claws. Despite the lack of a visible mouth, it growled at the girls as they backed away from it, Nikki keeping her blaster trained on it.

"Stay back!" Nikki yelled at the creature, who growled threateningly back at her. "Who are you?! What do you want?!"

"Nikki!" Madilyn cried, eyes fixed on something behind her. Quick as she could, Nikki swung her blaster back, catching a similar creature in the side of the head with the barrel of her weapon, and seemingly breaking it in the process. The creature roared in response, but left itself open as Nikki punched it in its single eye, knocking it down and causing it to evaporate into the air.

"The heck?!" Nikki wondered aloud.

"Watch it!" Madilyn shouted, tackling Nikki down as the remaining creature actually shot its claws at her, just missing thanks to Madilyn's save. The pink and purple-streaked blonde then pulled her own blaster free and opened fire, causing the creature to scramble away.

"Thanks for the save!" Nikki said, wiping the sweat from her brow. "Sorry about-"

"Ah, no biggy!" Madilyn proclaimed, getting back to her feet. "Right now, we gotta find the boys!"

"Yeah, preferably before any of THOSE things come back," Layla noted, at which point Nikki and Madilyn glanced over her shoulder. "...Running time?"

"MOVE!" Nikki screamed, causing Layla to sprint forward, just as another creature swung for her head, barely missing. The trio immediately began running as the creature, flanked by at least a dozen or so more of its kind, gave chase. Nikki and Layla stayed behind Madilyn, trusting her to know where the boys were. Sure enough, after what felt like a couple of minutes of non-stop running, Patrick and Dirk came into view. Unfortunately, they seemed to be running from their own pack of a dozen creatures, and right towards the girls.

"Darn you two!" Madilyn cursed as they all came together, the creatures forming a circle around them. "What kind of men run in fear from trouble?!"

"I didn't see YOU put up a fight, 'boss'!" Patrick noted, clutching a stick in his hands despite the blasters strapped to his and Dirk's legs.

_We all have one?_ Nikki realized. _What's the deal with these, anyway?_

Looking down at the blaster still clutched in her hand, Nikki's eyes widened as she saw that it wasn't broken at all. Rather, the barrel was bent down to reveal a compartment of some sort. In fact, looking at it now, the compartment's edges looked to be quite the familiar shape and size.

"Look out!" Dirk yelled as a creature suddenly lunged at Nikki, grabbing it from around its waist and slamming it into the ground. With this, it was suddenly on as the creatures ran in to fight the group. Patrick started swinging his stick around like a staff of some sort, clonking a few in the head, but he was quickly disarmed and knocked to the ground. Madilyn shot down a couple of creatures, but soon turned her attention to one that was swiping at Layla, getting hit in the back and knocked aside, Layla soon following. Nikki used her karate and Dirk his grappling to try to fend the rest off, but it was now effectively 2-on-24, and they were quickly knocked down with the rest.

Nikki groaned as she hit the ground, her crystal falling out of her shirt. As it lay there, she looked upon its shape. She then looked back to her blaster, and the compartment. A complete match. With that, she grabbed her crystal, pulling it free of the chain, and placed it in her blaster's compartment, closing it shut. The eyes of the phoenix head on it glowed red, and the blaster hummed as if it was coming to life.

"Guys!" Nikki yelled. "Your crystals! They go in the blasters!"

The other four blinked in surprise, at first in disbelief, but Layla quickly examined her blaster, shifting the barrel down to reveal the compartment. "She's right! But what'll happen if-"

"Who cares, let's try it!" Madilyn exclaimed, inserting her crystal into the gun and closing it shut, the eyes of the phoenix glowing violet. With a groan, Patrick, Dirk, and Layla all followed suit. Getting back to their feet, they held their blasters out, just as the creatures ran in to attack again, and opened fire. The result was a flash of red, green, blue, orange, and violet lights that knocked the creatures back before enveloping the group.

"Now what?!" Nikki demanded as her body was enveloped in red light.

"...Guardians of Gaia, AWAKEN!" a voice called out from nowhere as the light grew brighter. Suddenly, Nikki watched as a red costume materialized over her body, with white gloves and boots, a silver belt with a holster for her blaster and another for a red and silver short sword, a white star on the chest, and a red helmet with a black visor and silver accents to resemble a phoenix head. Looking to the others, she saw that the same thing was happening to them, except Patrick's was green with a hippogriff helmet, Layla's was blue with a leviathan helmet, Dirk's was orange with a behemoth helmet, and Madilyn's was violet with a thunderbird helmet. In addition, the girls all had skirts coming down to their thighs.

"...Okay, this day has officially gone into trippy territory!" Nikki exclaimed, looking her suit over.

"Are you kidding me?!" Madilyn cried, and Nikki could just tell that, under that helmet, the girl had the biggest smile on her face. "We're Power Rangers?! BEST DAY EVER!"

One of the creatures hissed and swung a claw at Madilyn as she was fangirling out, sending sparks off her suit as she spun in mid-air. However, despite being hit hard enough to knock her off of her feet, the Violet Ranger was able to take aim and shoot the creature in its eye, and land on foot and knee as the inky monster evaporated. Nikki gasped as she suddenly remembered the last one that evaporated like that: The one she'd punched in the eye.

"Go for the eyes!" Nikki yelled. "That's their weak-spot!"

"Got it!" Patrick shouted back as the group immediately split off with their own targets. Pat squared off with a trio of creatures, holstering his blaster and leaping up to grab a low branch from a nearby tree, kicking at his opponents. After catching one in the eye, the Green Ranger flipped off the branch and did a mule kick off another, sending it crashing head first into the tree. Once on the ground, he pulled out his short sword and slashed at the remaining creature's legs, knocking it down before slashing it across the eye, destroying it.

"Oh wow," Patrick muttered, looking over his sword with barely contained glee. "Luck of the Irish, have you ever been kind to me today!"

"Eep!" Layla cried as she ducked and dodged around slashes from a small pack of creatures. "A little help here, guys?! I'm not really much for fighti-OOF!"

Layla groaned as she took a harsh kick to her behind, knocking her flat on her face in the dirt. The Blue Ranger's eye twitched at this, feeling incredibly angry as she drew her blaster from its holster.

"Didn't anyone ever tell you not to kick a lady there?!" Layla cried, immediately shooting down four creatures one by one, scoring perfect eye shots. "Especially not a lady who beats suckers on Halo for a hobby!"

Nikki cut down a creature before a flurry of nails shot forward and knocked her sword from her hand. Backed against a tree as more opponents came up to face her, the Red Ranger suddenly looked to her belt, seeing a shield-emblem emblazoned on the buckle of her belt. Feeling a natural urge take over, she pressed her thumb to it, sending out a pair of red lights that took the form of twin swords, each resembling a wisp of flame, perhaps even a phoenix's wing.

" **Heat Sabers!** " Nikki yelled, somehow immediately knowing the name of her weapons. Leaping forward, she immediately cut down a pair of foes before ducking and spinning, sending waves of heat off her blades that scorched any creatures that came her way.

"Cool, I want in on that action!" Madilyn exclaimed, ducking a slash from an opponent and pressing the shield on her buckle to unleash a pair of violet daggers shaped like feathers. " **Lightning Daggers!** "

Spinning the daggers in her hands, the Violet Ranger went to work stabbing at the opponents closest to her. She then spotted one trying to get the jump on Dirk nearby, who was blasting targets from up in a tree. With a loud cry, Madilyn threw one of her daggers at the creature, only for the dagger to suddenly turn into a thunderbolt latched onto her hand, stabbing the creature in the eye before immediately returning to her grip.

"Okay, I reiterate: BEST! DAY! EVER!" Madilyn cheered.

" **Flood Launcher!** " Layla shouted as she brought out her own weapon: A large cannon balanced on her shoulder and held in both hands, looking like a tidal wave ending in a leviathan's open jaws. As more creatures came toward her, she opened fire, sending wave-shaped blasts of energy out that leveled them all with ease. Layla's eyes widened, looking over the cannon in awe.

"...Holy cow!" the Blue Ranger commented. "I am SO keeping you!"

" **Storm Lance!** " Patrick yelled as he leaped through the air, drawing a lance with blades on the ends resembling a hippogriff's talons. With a spinning slash, he immediately brought down two creatures. The Green Ranger then gave the lance a twist, separating it into a pair of small trident-like weapons, before cutting down foes while flipping around to avoid attacks.

"Yo Patrick, watch out!" Dirk shouted as he leaped off the tree he was perched in, bringing out a two-handed battle-ax resembling a behemoth's head. " **Quake Ax!** "

Patrick immediately put his lance together and vaulted off the ground as the Orange Ranger brought his ax down, cleaving through the earth and sending a small tremor through the ground that knocked the creatures off their feet. Pat's jaw nearly dropped straight through his helmet at the sight of this once he landed back down on his feet.

"...Um, overkill much?" the Green Ranger asked.

"Yeah, you worry about finesse in a fight, I'll just knock the suckers down," Dirk replied with a smirk.

Patrick rolled his eyes at Dirk as the last eight creatures were all knocked into a group. Nikki, Layla, and Madilyn all joined up with the boys, just as Layla noticed the hilt of her short sword had a hidden compartment on it. Sure enough, the compartment was shaped like their crystals.

"Wonder what happens when we use these?" the Blue Ranger inquired. Deciding to find out, the group all took their crystals out of their blasters and placed them in the swords, causing the blades to glow in their own respective colors. The creatures all roared at the Rangers, charging them, only to receive a series of elemental slashes for their attempt, destroying them all.

"Whoo-hoo!" Madilyn cheered, leaping up and down. "That was AWESOME!"

"That was really violent!" Layla commented, putting her sword away shakily. "I'm starting to think this isn't a computer simulation."

"Gosh, what made you think that?" Patrick asked.

"Guys, we need to figure out what's going on, like right now," Nikki reminded the group.

"Well, if I had to guess, we got teleported to some weird world, and our crystals and blasters are actually morphers of some kind," Dirk surmised, causing everyone to look at him with slumped shoulders. "...Oh, you meant we need to find out how this all happened and how to get home, huh?"

"C'mon, you guys!" Madilyn whined. "Am I really the only one that wants to stick around for a bit longer?"

"And you would be the foolish one, then."

The group all spun around, facing the source of the voice. The figure standing before them was a skinny-looking fellow in a chain-mail top and black jeans. He had grey skin, almost like stone, long raven locks flowing over one side of his face, and amber eyes peering out from under his hair. He was holding a long black staff with a wyvern head at the top holding an amber jewel in its beak. He was smirking at the group menacingly, despite his somewhat smaller stature and being outnumbered.

"After all, Gaia is a dangerous place these days," the stranger went on, gripping his staff in his right hand. "The Blots are just about everywhere, and they'll attack anything that moves and isn't their own, especially if someone were to send for them."

"Why do I get the feeling that someone would be you?" Pat accused, keeping his sword drawn.

"Tch," the stranger replied, giving a small bow. "Guilty as charged, I'm afraid. Name's Walker, a Shadowmancer."

Nikki blinked. "Shadowmancer? What's that?"

Walker grinned wider still. "It means that I'm able to warp shadows, like the ones the Blots come from, to create bigger, stronger creations."

Suddenly, the Rangers heard a loud thud further down the forest, the ground shaking in its wake as Walker stepped slowly to his left. "Oh my, I believe that's one of them now."

Nikki felt a certain sense of dread as she and the others looked straight ahead. After a few moments, the source of the stomping made itself known: A massive creature, or Blot as Walker called it, several stories tall, tearing up the trees as it marched along toward them. Walker gave a small giggle as he vanished into a column of black smoke, leaving the Rangers to their fate.

"...Okay, I KINDA wanna go home now," Madilyn admitted.

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to my Power Rangers fanfic, Guardians of Gaia! This story was originally posted in a two 'season' format on Fanfiction.net (and is still ongoing, for that matter), but will be posted as one single story here. I've been working on it for a little over three years now, and I hope you all like it. Also, if you're interested at all, feel free to check out the story's page on TV Tropes for more info, or listen to Martialartfruituser's live readings of the story on YouTube, though spoiler warnings are in place for both.
> 
> Anyway, next time on Power Rangers Guardians of Gaia, the Rangers have to figure out how to awaken the full extent of their powers to summon their new Gaia Zords, beat Walker's monsters, and hopefully find a way home. Ja né!


	2. Guardians of Gaia, AWAKEN! Part 2

_According to legend, the Guardians of Gaia had companions with which to fight the more menacing dangers that emerged from the darkness. They were known as the Gaia Zords: Colossal creatures that existed as a balance between nature and Gaian technology. If called upon, there was nothing they and the Guardians couldn't achieve while working together. Still, that raises a question: If the Gaia Zords and the Guardians were so powerful that no foe could defeat them, then why did they disappear in the face of the looming evil?_

* * *

Nikki looked the situation over. On the one hand, she and her new friends were now Power Rangers, a five person fighting force that a military couldn't keep up with. On the other hand, there was a giant ink-like monstrosity, or Blot as it was called, stomping towards them, tearing up the forest around them as it went along. They could try to run, but something that big, with legs as long as it had, would eventually catch them, meaning they only had one option.

"Let's try to hit it with everything we've got!" the Red Ranger suggested, Heat Sabers in hand.

"Are you NUTS?!" Layla demanded, despite getting her Flood Launcher ready anyway. "That thing could probably destroy us in one hit!"

"No, she's right," Patrick said, gripping his Storm Lance. "That thing'll just pick us off one at a time if we run. Better to try our luck as a group."

Madilyn nodded, pulling out her Lightning Daggers. "I'm in. Let's take this sucker down!"

"Well, I'm not gonna be the odd one out!" Dirk exclaimed, his Quake Ax held in both hands.

The team just looked to each other, giving a quick nod, before charging forward. Leaping at the creature's knees, or what they guessed were its knees, Nikki and Patrick slashed across the left, while Madilyn and Dirk took the right, and Layla blasted both hard. This caused the giant Blot to stumble back a bit as the Rangers all landed on the ground, drawing their blasters. Placing their crystals back in, the group held down the triggers, preparing a charged-up shot, and released, sending an array of fire, wind, water, earth, and lightning-based blasts into the Blot's chest, knocking it down hard and shaking the ground.

"YEAH!" Madilyn cheered, looking to the rest of the team. "THAT'S what we think of giant monsters!"

"Uh, sis?" Layla muttered. "Celebrated a little too soon!"

The Violet Ranger turned back to face the Blot. Sure enough, it was getting back to its feet, and despite only having a single eye to work with for its whole face, it looked sincerely angered. In fact, the eye seemed to be glowing, like it was charging up.

"HIT THE DIRT!" Dirk yelled as a massive red beam shot out, blowing down the trees around the team as they managed to avoid the blast. They just barely got back to their feet as the Blot raised a foot up over Patrick, who had found himself pinned under a tree in the mess.

"Aw man, bad time for the Luck of the Irish to fail!" Pat moaned, trying desperately to pry himself free.

"NO!" Nikki screamed, leaping as hard as she could at the Blot. Somehow managing to land on the creature's shoulder, surprising herself at how much leaping power the crystal provided her, she blasted relentlessly into the Blot's eye, causing it to stumble away from Patrick while roaring in pain.

"Of course!" Layla observed as she and the others lifted the tree off Patrick. "Even at giant size, the Blot still has the same weak-point!"

"Then I think it's time we wiped this guy out!" Pat declared, spotting a tree laying cross-ways over another. "Dirk! Alley-oop?"

The Orange Ranger nodded, patting the blunt end of his ax, all the while Nikki was still wildly trying to avoid the Blot's claws. "You got it!"

With that, Patrick leaped over onto one side of the top tree, causing the other side to point up. Once that was done, Dirk ran over and, with a huge swing, whacked the side pointed up back down to the ground, launching the Green Ranger into the air. As Pat neared the Blot, he let out a yell and stabbed his Storm Lance forward, nailing the creature in the eye and causing it to fall back a little. Planting his feet down, Patrick then ran across the head and upper torso of the Blot, dragging his lance along the way and cutting a glowing green slash down its front. Finally, he leaped off the colossal creature's chest, as Nikki did its shoulder, both rolling across the ground as the Blot exploded into black smoke.

"Okay, not gonna lie, that was pretty awesome!" Nikki commented between pants, her suit powering down as she extended a fist for Patrick.

The Green Ranger laughed weakly, likewise returning to his civilian clothes and giving Nikki a fist bump. "Yeah, just don't ask me to do it again."

"That was SWEET, you guys!" Madilyn shouted as the others ran over to join the two, all of them demorphing.

"I didn't think it was statistically possible to beat that thing!" Layla admitted as she and Dirk helped Nikki and Patrick back to their feet.

Dirk smirked at this. "And I didn't think it was statistically possible for you to admit the statistics came up on the wrong side."

Layla just grinned right back. "Well, I suppose it had to happen sooner or later, statis-"

"Uh, guys?" Nikki interrupted, looking gravely over their shoulders.

The group all turned to face where Nikki was, their blood turning cold at the sight: Within moments, more and more Blots were beginning to appear, some giant-sized like the one they'd just barely managed to take down. Soon enough, Blots were forming behind them as well, and then all around, trapping them in the middle of their circle.

"Aaaaaaaannnnnd now we're gonna die," Dirk muttered.

Just as the Blots began to make their way menacingly toward them, however, the five suddenly found themselves standing in a circle of silver light. It then launched a beam of energy straight up around the team, causing them to glow their Ranger colours, before they turned into beams of light that similarly shot up into the sky and off toward some unseen location.

* * *

Walker frowned in annoyance at the image being shown to him in the black flames of the fireplace before him. Just when it looked like he'd gathered enough darkness to obliterate the humans, they went and pulled a vanishing act on him. He gripped his staff in anger as he cursed the Blots for not attacking as soon as they formed, thus giving them the chance to escape.

"I wouldn't go blaming them, Walker..."

Walker gritted his teeth as he turned to face the figure that had entered the darkly lit chamber: A tall woman with the same grey skin, raven hair, and amber eyes as him, but wearing black and red demonic-looking armor. "After all, you're the one who summoned them. If you want them to do the job right, you have to be specific with your commands."

"Tch, go away, Darkea!" Walker commanded. "This room's MY sanctuary, not yours!"

"Is that really any way to treat family, Walker?" Darkea asked, putting on a face of mock-hurt. "And here I just wanted to check in to see if the rumours of humans in Gaia were true or not."

Walker growled, the black flames of the furnace fading away as he walked up to confront his sister. "They are, in fact, true. Seems that Gaia has some new Guardians. Called themselves 'Power Rangers'."

"Yes, a group of multicoloured warriors that has emerged on multiple occasions throughout the human world's history," Darkea recalled from her studies. "If memory serves, they've saved that world a number of times from great evil, and they possess powers and weapons similar to the Guardians of old. It only makes sense that the new Guardians of Gaia would be among their ranks. But why now, after all this time?"

Walker scratched his chin, thinking it over, before snapping his fingers. "Of course, the crystals! Musta opened a gate between the worlds!"

Darkea cocked an eyebrow, confused. "But wasn't there one crystal that-"

"Yes, I know, meaning there's more investigation to be done," Walker stated. "For now, I'll instruct the Blots to seek out the humans and destroy anything that gets in their way. Should bring that lot outta hiding."

"Just in case, you may wish to add THIS to their ranks," Darkea suggested, drawing a stone figurine from her belt and tossing it to Walker. The Shadowmancer caught it in his hand and looked over the black Minotaur figurine, smirking evilly in admiration.

* * *

Nikki blinked as the light finally died down, revealing the five of them to be standing in the middle of a large stone chamber lit by five torches, each burning one of of their crystals' colours. Just behind them was a large crystal globe, turning very slowly. Lining the walls were bookshelves filled with thick books. A wooden podium of sorts stood just before them, a book laying open atop of it.

"Okay, NOW where are we?" Patrick wondered, quickly spotting Layla inching toward the podium. "Hey, what do you think you're doing?"

"Just checking something," Layla replied, inspecting the book. On the pages it was open to, there were five creatures, almost machine-like in appearance, colour-coded to each of their crystals. "...Okay, THIS is pretty interesting. It looks like these creatures are tied to our crystals somehow."

Madilyn took a look, her eyes widening. "Hey, the violet one is a thunderbird, just like the one on my helmet when I morphed! Come to think of it, these ALL look like the creatures our helmets were patterned after!"

"Well, that only makes sense. They ARE your Gaia Zords."

The five spun to face the one who said that. Standing before them, stroking a long white beard, was an elderly-looking man in gold and silver robes, holding a wooden staff with a unicorn head at the top, its horn shimmering silver. The man smiled to the group in a friendly manner, walking over to them.

"Greetings," the man said warmly. "I am Jowar, the last wizard of Gaia. I see my teleportation spell brought you here safely enough."

"Teleportation spell?" Nikki asked. "You mean YOU brought us to this insane world?"

Jowar shook his head. "No, no, only to the Ancient Library, after it seemed you were a bit cornered by Blots. Though, I HAVE been tracking your progress since you arrived in Gaia."

"That creep Walker called this place Gaia, too," Dirk noted. "Is this really a whole different world from Earth?"

"Yes and no," the old wizard replied, motioning to the globe as it suddenly showed the faint outline of continents on it over a smaller holographic image of Earth. "Gaia exists in the same space as Earth, providing it with nourishment and life. Or rather, it DID, for who knows how many millenia, until the dark times began. Since then, Earth has mostly had to make do on its own, with its own natural resources and what little energy that can be spared while keeping Gaia intact."

"What happened?" Layla inquired, still holding the book.

"This world has ties to each of the natural elements, like fire and water," Jowar explained as the globe powered down. "However, one day, the element of darkness grew too powerful, by slowly but surely consuming energy from the other elements. Such an imbalance caused the world to spiral out of control. The Guardians of Gaia sought to use the power of the silver light to revert the darkness to its previous state, and it seemed to be working for a time. But then, when the most crucial and critical battle began, both the light and the Guardians vanished, along with the crystals that allowed them to harness their powers."

"Crystals?" Nikki exclaimed, reaching into her shirt and pulling out her own, which had returned to its chain upon her demorphing. "You mean like these?"

"Yes, those exact crystals," Jowar confirmed as the group all brought out their crystals. "I believe the Guardians may have been forcibly sent to Earth, though scattered around the human world. With no way to return, they simply chose to keep the crystals protected in their family lines until the day came when the gates between worlds opened again, which didn't happen for thousands of years."

"Why now, though?" Patrick wondered aloud, holding his crystal. "Is it just because the crystals all got gathered in the same place, or is there something more to it?"

"I don't know, but your arrival with the crystals is a sure-fire sign that you are the new Guardians of Gaia," the elderly wizard went on. "Your passing through the realms even afforded you the Crystal Blast Morphers, the weapons developed through Gaian technology to harness the powers of the crystals, just as I believe that further tapping into their power will allow you to summon the Gaia Zords, the companions of the Guardians of Gaia."

Layla's eye twitched at the mention, causing her to hold the book open. "You mean these creatures? Or...are they machines?"

"They are both, created through the natural elements, given the minds of living creatures, and the bodies of war machines," Jowar answered, gently taking the book from Layla and placing it back on the podium. "I was studying about their use back in ancient times when I noticed you were in trouble."

"Wait, time out," Nikki interjected. "All of this sounds pretty dire, and as much as I'd hate to turn my back on people that need help, we need to find a way back home. Heck, once we're there, we could call in the military or the other Power Rangers of our world to come stomp those Blots back to where they came from."

"Sadly, though you somehow managed to open the gates between worlds, they shut behind you," Jowar said, looking apologetic. "I didn't possess the power to keep it open, and I still have yet to determine if there's any sort of way to use the crystals to open the gates again."

Dirk's shoulders slumped. "Y'mean we're stuck here? Oh man..."

Madilyn frowned at the group, throwing her hands out. "C'mon, you guys! How can you be all down?! Look at us: We're Power Rangers in an awesome new world with cool weapons and even Zords! Tell me none of you have ever dreamed or even prayed for that!"

"Of course I have!" Dirk yelled back. "Just...y'know, not like this! Not trapped in some other world! I mean, I was far enough away from my folks being in college, but this?!"

Nikki sighed, looking into her crystal as she listened to the two argue. Suddenly, the sound of them was drowned out as she saw the image of the phoenix from before, only now clearly resembling the picture in the book of the Gaia Zords. It looked into her eyes, and she looked back, and in that instant, she finally understood the meaning in its eyes and what it wanted from her: To fight alongside it and save Gaia. And as their eyes were locked, Nikki could think of only one course of action to take.

"Let's do it," she muttered, getting everyone's attention.

"Seriously?" Patrick asked. "You sure about this?"

"Look, there's nothing else we can do until we can find a way home," Nikki reasoned, "and are we really willing to ignore a world in danger like this?"

Before anyone could say anything more, the torches suddenly burned much brighter, and the globe spun to show a specific section before highlighting it with a red circle. Jowar quickly dashed over to the globe, inspecting the location it was highlighting.

"What's going on now?" Layla inquired.

"That's a warning signal, meaning somewhere right now, Blots are attacking someone!" Jowar explained as the globe created a holographic image of a lake, where female Centaurs were running from Blots. "That's a settlement filled with Kentaurides! It isn't far from where you first arrived!"

Dirk's eyes widened in realization. "They went looking for us. Now they're destroying anything and anyone in their path until they find us."

"What's THAT?" Layla demanded, pointing to the image of an ink-like black Minotaur among the Blots, ramming down trees with its horns.

"That's a Lightless," Jowar answered, stroking his beard. "They're ancient creatures of the dark, normally trapped in figurines, unless given plenty of darkness to awaken. Walker must've used some of the Blots to wake it up."

Dirk's fists clenched as he saw the Centaur women running in fear of the Minotaur Lightless. "...Okay, NOW they've ticked me off. Let's take 'em down."

The others all nodded as Jowar turned to them. "Remember, you're tied to the energy in your crystals, whether you realize it now or not. Call upon it from deep inside yourselves, and you'll be able to access the full extent of your powers."

The group nodded, drawing their blasters as Jowar raised his staff, teleporting them as he did previously. Within moments, they found themselves just up the hill from the lake, Centaurs running in terror. Some of the men had arrived with clubs and maces, but were little good against the Blots, getting knocked away. One rather armored Centaur was doing battle with the Minotaur Lightless, but quickly found his armor pounded in before getting knocked onto his side. The monster then raised both fists, looking to bring it down on the warrior Centaur.

"Hold it, 'El Torito'!" Nikki shouted, getting the monster's attention.

The Minotaur Lightless huffed angrily, black smog rising from its nostrils. "Who dares call me a simple bull?!"

"I think you made it mad," Layla pointed out as Blots began to form up around the monster.

"Was kinda the idea," Nikki replied with a shrug. "You guys ready to do this?"

Patrick gave a nod. "We're with ya, boss."

"HEY, I'M the leader of the club!" Madilyn objected.

"Whatever, let's take these Blots down and save the Centaurs," Dirk interjected. "...There's a sentence I never thought I'd say."

Nikki rolled her eyes, stifling a giggle. "Let's do this. **It's Morphin Time!** "

At this call, the group all pulled their crystals from their chains, drew their Crystal Blast Morphers, and inserted them inside. As the Blots came charging in, the team raised their blasters forward, pulling the triggers and yelling, " _ **Guardians of Gaia, AWAKEN!**_ " The multicoloured blasts shot out, knocking the Blots away, before doubling back, coating the team with energy as their suits materialized.

"Guardian of Fire!" Nikki yelled as her suit finished materializing. "Red Gaia Ranger!"

"Guardian of Wind!" Patrick called as his costume came on. "Green Gaia Ranger!"

"Guardian of Water!" Layla shouted as her suit formed around herself. "Blue Gaia Ranger!"

"Guardian of Earth!" Dirk roared as his outfit materialized. "Orange Gaia Ranger!"

"Guardian of Lightning!" Madilyn called as her suit's materialization ended. "Violet Gaia Ranger!"

The five all struck a pose as a large flash of silver light shimmered around them, followed by five multicoloured explosions. " _ **Power Rangers, Guardians of Gaia!**_ "

"Blots, tear them apart!" the Minotaur Lightless commanded, sending his entire squad to attack.

" **Gaia Sabers!** " Nikki yelled, the team drawing their short swords. The Rangers then dashed down the hill, squaring off with their own groups of Blots. Nikki took on a group of five, wasting little time with her motions and stabbing them in the eyes, destroying each of them as quickly and efficiently as possible. The last one managed to catch the blade in its hands, but the Red Ranger simply leaped up and karate kicked the blade into its eye, causing it to evaporate into black smoke.

A few feet away, Patrick kicked one in the shin, bringing it to a knee. He then leaped off its back, landing on the shoulders of other Blots nearby one by one, slashing down the Blot closest to the one he was perched on. Once he was down to three, he leaped up and struck his sword and feet out in different directions, catching all of them before doing a one-handed handstand.

"I'll give you guys this much," the Green Ranger commented, "you make me look REALLY good."

Further down the hill, Dirk shoulder-tackled one Blot in the gut, slamming him to the ground. As five more Blots came charging at him, though, he lifted the Blot back up, and proceeded to ram his way through each and every one of them, knocking them all against a boulder. Loading his crystal into his Gaia Saber, the Orange Ranger then let out a battle cry as he sent an Earthly slash through all six Blots at once, destroying them all.

"Looks like these Blots have been blotted out!" Dirk joked.

Madilyn and Layla yelled as they leaped up and slashed down the pair of Blots before them, clearing the way to the fallen Centaur warrior. Once that was done, they immediately got between him and the Minotaur Lightless, keeping them apart.

"Gonna have to go through us to get to him!" Madilyn told the monster.

"That's arrangeable!" the Minotaur Lightless yelled, charging toward them.

" **Flood Launcher!** " Layla shouted, bringing out her cannon and blasting the monster hard. However, she was shocked to find the beast's horns piercing straight through the blast, which gave him the chance to slam his hard skull into the Blue Ranger's gut and knock her several feet away.

"SIS!" Madilyn cried, before turning to the Minotaur Lightless. "Oh, you're MINE, now!"

"Try it!" the monster growled.

" **Lightning Daggers!** " the Violet Ranger shrieked, pulling out her personal weapons. She then ran forward and slashed her daggers at the Minotaur Lightless, only to have said slashes blocked by the creature's horns. He then backhanded Madilyn hard across her helmet, sending her sailing away, landing near her sister.

"Madilyn! Layla!" Nikki yelled as she ran over to the two, quickly followed by Dirk and Patrick. "Are you okay?!"

"Ugh, yeah, but that creep's horns are deflecting our attacks!" Madilyn replied, slowly getting to a knee.

Nikki looked back to the Minotaur Lightless, particularly the crimson points of its horns, formulating a strategy. "...Dirk, think you can keep a hold on those horns?"

"He can't be any wilder than ol' Boris back at home!" the Orange Ranger suggested.

"Just keep them down so me and Pat can get a clear shot at them," Nikki ordered.

Patrick smirked. "Think I got the plan. Let's do this!"

Dirk nodded, charging the Minotaur Lightless, sword held high. However, as the beast looked to block his slash, at the last second, the Orange Ranger tossed his sword away and grabbed both of the monster's horns, pushing down hard on them. The Lightless roared as it tried to buck Dirk off, but he held his ground firmly, grunting with all he had until he finally managed to bring the monster down to a knee.

"NOW!" Dirk shouted.

" **Heat Sabers!** " Nikki called, bringing out her swords as she ran in and brought them down on the left horn.

" **Storm Lance!** " Patrick cried, summoning his lance and stabbing it toward the right horn. The two attacks hit their marks, slicing the Minotaur Lightless' horns clean off.

" **Quake Ax!** " Dirk roared, tossing the horns away and drawing his ax, sending it crashing against the monster and knocking it several yards away. Once it was down, Layla and Madilyn managed to form up with the others, weapons drawn.

"Let's bring 'em together!" Nikki commanded. At this, she slammed the hilts of her sabers together, creating a bow. Dirk set his ax blunt end down on the Flood Launcher, the Heat Bow connecting between the two. Patrick then disconnected the two halves of his lance, he and Madilyn connecting them onto the bow.

" _ **Gaia Blaster!**_ " the Rangers yelled, holding the massive weapon up and aiming it at the Lightless as it started to get back up. " _ **FIRE!**_ "

Pulling the trigger, Layla fired a massive multicoloured blast of their elements at the monster. The resulting blast created an explosion, utterly destroying the monster and sending a puff of black smog sailing into the sky. The team cheered in victory as they disconnected their weapons.

* * *

Walker's teeth gritted together so hard that they almost shattered as he watched the image of the Rangers destroying his monster in the fireplace. "Grr, what happened?! The Minotaur Lightless should've been more than enough to obliterate them!"

Darkea looked up from the book she was reading in shock. "They destroyed it?! They're stronger than I thought they'd be!"

"Not destroyed YET!" Walker growled, raising his staff over the fireplace. "Dark Staff of the Wyvern, make my Lightless grow!"

Suddenly, the wyvern head on Walker's staff opened its jaws. It then spewed out a thick, black smog into the fire, causing it to grow larger. Walker sneered evilly as this went on, feeling the Minotaur Lightless' energy be restored from far off.

* * *

Up in the sky above the Centaur settlement, the Rangers watched as a dark flame was suddenly pumped into the black smog released from the monster. Once it was finished, the smog reformed into the Minotaur Lightless, only now it was giant sized, like the giant Blot they'd fought earlier, and its horns were grown back. Worse, some of the giant Blots they'd seen before were beginning to take up formation around it.

"Oh great, now what do we do?!" Pat asked.

Nikki looked around, trying to think, when her eyes settled on her Gaia Saber. Specifically, the section in the hilt that slid back to place her crystal in. Engraved on it was the face of a phoenix. Looking down at Dirk's saber, she saw that a behemoth was engraved onto his. Her lips curved into a smile as she realized the meaning behind this: If the blasters were their morphers, then maybe the sabers were...

"Guys!" the Red Ranger yelled, reaching down and tossing Dirk's saber to him. "Our Gaia Sabers! I'll bet anything we need to use them to call the Zords!"

Dirk blinked, but placed his crystal back into the saber anyway. "Sounds crazy enough. Let's do it!"

The others followed suit, placing their crystals into their sabers, then raised them high and called out, " ** _We need Gaia Zord power, now!_** "

"Red Phoenix Gaia Zord, power up!" Nikki yelled, her sword sending out a red stream of light into a nearby mountain, the Phoenix Zord taking off from it with flames trailing off of its wings.

"Green Hippogriff Gaia Zord, power up!" Patrick called, a green beam firing from his saber into a cluster of clouds, bringing out the Hippogriff Zord as it barrel rolled through the sky.

"Blue Leviathan Gaia Zord, power up!" Layla shouted, her saber releasing a blue blast into the lake, the Leviathan Zord lifting its neck out the water with a roar.

"Orange Behemoth Gaia Zord, power up!" Dirk exclaimed, his sword sending out an orange beam into the woods, the Behemoth Zord stomping through it on all fours.

"Violet Thunderbird Gaia Zord, power up!" Madilyn cried, sending a violet stream of light up out of her sword to create a thundercloud in the sky, the Thunderbird Zord sailing out of it.

Once the Zords were all called out, the Rangers immediately leaped up, were caught in beams of light from the Zords, and pulled into the Gaia Zord cockpits. The cockpits consisted of a pilot's seat, a few switches and levers, and a large screen to show everything in front of and to the Zord's sides. There were also a pair of empty compartments: One for the Gaia Saber in front of the seat to form the stick to steer the Zord, one for the Crystal Blast Morpher to the right of the seat to operate the Zord's weapon systems. One by one, each of the Rangers plugged their weapons in, receiving full control of their Zords.

"Cover me, guys," Nikki said over the comm. "I'm going in!"

The Phoenix Zord screeched as it swooped down at a giant Blot, raking its talons across its eye. The Blot stumbled back with a growl, giving the red Gaia Zord the chance to open its beak and release a series of fireballs that blew the giant creature away.

"My turn!" Patrick yelled, flying the Hippogriff Zord into an aileron roll, creating a mini-tornado that spun directly into a Blot, taking it out instantly.

"Watch what I can do!" Layla cheered, the Leviathan Zord slithering across the land and tripping up a Blot before rearing its head back and letting loose a blast of ice, freezing the giant solid before it was smashed apart by the massive feet of the Behemoth Zord. "Hey, he was mine!"

"I didn't see your name on it!" Dirk laughed, ramming the Behemoth Zord's horns into another Blot, knocking it down.

"And I didn't see YOUR name on THIS!" Madilyn called as the Thunderbird Zord swooped down, firing thunderbolt-like feathers from its wings and destroying the fallen Blot.

Dirk sighed, shoulders slumping. "Hardy flipping har."

Phoenix Zord cawed as it blasted the last Blot away, Nikki cheering. "Yeah! That takes care of the small-fries! Now, let's bring that Lightless down!"

Thunderbird Zord flew in close, firing electricity from its eyes at the Minotaur Lightless, only for the blasts to be intercepted by the beast's horns, Madilyn cursing at her luck. "Shoot! Those horns are stopping our attacks again!"

"I got 'em!" Dirk yelled, charging the Behemoth Zord toward the monster. The Minotaur Lightless rammed straight for it, the two locking horns. The Orange Ranger gritted his teeth, putting as much power as he could into his Zord and push on the Minotaur Lightless.

"Green Ranger to the rescue!" Patrick cried as the Hippogriff Zord flew down, stomping its hooves down hard on the monster's horns, taking them clean off. "Let's wrap this sucker up!"

"That's my cue!" Layla said, weaving the Leviathan Zord between and around the Minotaur Lightless' legs, keeping it immobile. "Finish it, Nikki!"

"Locked on!" the Red Ranger responded. "Time to take this bull out to pasture!"

With that, the Phoenix Zord swooped down, the light of the sun shimmering around it. It then began to spin in an aileron roll, surrounding itself in flames, before flying straight through the Minotaur Lightless, emerging from the other side as Leviathan Zord released the monster. Said monster let out one last roar before collapsing in an explosion, the black smog rising up before evaporating into the air.

Nikki let out a sigh of relief, landing her Zord and pulling her helmet off. "Good job, team. Looks like Gaia's safe for another day..."

Easing into the back of her seat, Nikki looked down at the helmet in her hands. She knew this wasn't going to be easy, and she never planned on being a soldier or superhero or the like in her life. Karate and fencing were just a means of learning self defense and discipline. And now, in the first week in college, she'd been sucked into some alternate world with people she barely knew to fight against an evil she never could've imagined existed, even in the world she lived in with Power Rangers and giant monsters. And yet, as she looked at her reflection in the helmet's visor, she couldn't shake the feeling that, in spite of the odds, she could do this. THEY could do this. By luck, fate, or whatever was at work, they were the Power Rangers now, and as long as they stuck together, there was nothing they couldn't do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, let's go over some of the team's equipment this time, shall we? First off, the Crystal Blast Morphers. Without the crystals, they fire non-elemental blasts that lack the force of their other shots. Each blaster's barrel is shaped like a phoenix head, which can be bent down to insert a crystal (think Kamen Rider W's Trigger Magnum crossed with Dino Charge's Morphers). Once the crystal is inserted and the blaster closed, calling out "Guardians of Gaia, AWAKEN!" and pulling the trigger initiates the morphing sequence. And yes, I adopted "It's Morphin Time" as the pre-morphing-call call, like it is in Power Rangers Megaforce. If that bothers anyone, I apologize, but to be fair, it works a heck of a lot better than most team's "Ready?!". Once morphing is complete, the blasters fire elemental beams, the element dependent on which crystal was inserted. Holding in the trigger will cause the blaster to charge up, and then releasing it launches a much larger blast.
> 
> The Gaia Sabers are the short sword sidearms for the Gaia Rangers. On their own, they're sharp blades used for stabbing and slashing opponents, and are most effective against Blots at short range, as the Lightless are usually best kept at a longer range. By inserting a crystal in the hilt, it can be used for a powerful slash that channels the element the crystal belongs to. Finally, by inserting the correct crystal into the correct saber, it can be used to summon one of the Gaia Zords.
> 
> The Gaia Blaster is formed by the personal weapons of each Ranger. I used the original Power Blaster from Mighty Morphin Power Rangers as a base for the design. The Heat Sabers combine into the Heat Bow, which are connected to the Flood Launcher and Quake Ax, and then have the Lightning Daggers and the separated Storm Lance connected on top of it. Because it's a tad hefty, it requires the other Rangers to help support it for Layla while she takes aim and fires. It fires five beams out of the Flood Launcher and the four tips of the daggers and the lance-halves, one beam for each element. The resulting blast is usually enough to destroy a Lightless, but it's generally best to make sure the monster is downed and won't try to interrupt.
> 
> We'll talk more about the Gaia Zords at the end of the next chapter. Next time on Power Rangers Guardians of Gaia, the Rangers try to iron out some of the more disruptive elements of their team, as they'll need to be in perfect sync in order to combine their Zords to form the Gaia Megazord. Ja né!


	3. Unity

**For Justin 'JewWario' Carmical, who loved tokusatsu as much as anyone else I knew online, and himself became a toku hero. Ride on, FamiKamen Rider.**

* * *

_Not much is known about who the Guardians of Gaia were as people. As warriors, however, they were brave, kind to the down-trodden, ferocious to their enemies, and always there for one another, so one can assume they were good people. And, as exploits of their flawless teamwork seem to suggest, it can therefore be assumed that they were the very best of friends, rarely if ever coming into conflict._

* * *

"I'm just saying, bunk-beds are the way to go!" Madilyn insisted, getting huffy.

Patrick pinched the bridge of his nose so hard that it looked like he was about to bruise it. "And I'm saying we don't have the tools to make bunk-beds!"

"All we need to do is stack the beds on top of each other!" Madilyn argued. "Maybe put some blocks in between, use some steel beams to hold 'em up, and a ladder to climb-"

"No, no, no!" Dirk interjected. "No ladders! I did the ladder thing with bunk-beds on the farm, and they suck! We gotta go with steps!"

"On top of that, stacking them like that could end in DISASTER!" Pat pointed out. "What if one came loose? You could kill whoever's underneath!"

Nikki groaned and facepalmed, watching this argument from the sidelines with Layla. Jowar had been decent enough to create a room for them, and he even had four beds they could use. Unfortunately, getting the living conditions set up had been a disaster since the word go. It's not even that she didn't understand why Madilyn wanted bunk-beds, not just from a childish standpoint, but because they took up less of the floor. Still, facts were facts, and there was just no way they could safely make their four beds into two sets of bunk-beds.

"And you lived with this at home?" Nikki asked Layla.

Layla nodded, blushing in shame. "And in the dorms back at college. I had a one year break from it. I cherished that year, SO much."

"Is there a problem?"

Layla sprang up nearly four feet as Jowar appeared right beside her, Nikki having to catch her. "GAH! Do you HAVE to do that?!"

"Sorry, I tend to forget you aren't used to teleporting yet, among other things," Jowar apologized. "I just thought I'd check in to see what all the yelling was about."

Patrick walked over, having finally released the death grip on his own nose. "Madilyn wants bunk-beds. I keep telling her it's impossible, but-"

"Oh, is that all?" Jowar asked. "Hold on then!"

Suddenly, Jowar raised his staff, the unicorn horn at the top glowing brightly. One flash of light later, the beds were reformed into two sets of bunk-beds, complete with wooden staircases to climb up to the top bunks. The elderly wizard smirked, stroking his beard and looking proud of himself.

"Yay, bunk-beds!" Madilyn cheered. "I kinda wanted ladders, but I guess I'll meet you guys halfway with the stairs."

"How is that meeting us halfway when she got nearly everything she wanted?" Pat muttered to Nikki, who just shrugged.

"Say, Jowar, is that REALLY the most appropriate use of your powers?" Layla asked.

Jowar huffed. "A wizard as wise as myself can use his magic however he sees fit."

"Okay then!" Madilyn exclaimed as she turned to face the team. "Next piece of business: I was thinking, we should all streak our hair to match our Ranger colours!"

Nikki blinked, confused. "...Uhh, why?"

Madilyn rolled her eyes, pointing to the violet streaks in her hair. "Because I'm the only one with hair that matches my Ranger colour! We should all do it, so we all match our Ranger colours!"

"Absolutely not!" Patrick yelled, forming an X with his arms. "I LOVE my red hair, and I am not doing ANYTHING to taint it!"

"Besides, it's honestly not enough that we're all dressed in the same colours as our Ranger suits?" Dirk asked, everyone looking at him like he'd grown a second head. "...What, seriously? I'm the only one that noticed this?"

The team hesitantly looked down at their clothes. Sure enough, they were all wearing some form of clothes that had the same colour as their Ranger suits: Nikki was wearing a red t-shirt, black knee-length jeans, and red and black sneakers; Patrick was wearing a green t-shirt, black vest, blue jeans, and black and green sneakers; Layla was wearing a blue tank-top, jeans, glasses, and white sneakers; Dirk was wearing an orange long-sleeved shirt, blue cut-off jeans, and brown work boots; Finally, Madilyn was wearing a violet long-sleeved shirt, sky blue jeans, and violet and white sneakers. And of course, reaching under their shirts were silver chains that ended in their respective crystals.

Madilyn sweatdropped. "Yyyeeaaahhhh. I've, uh, I've opted to make the executive decision to skip the hair dye."

* * *

Walker smirked, looking over a glass cabinet filled with black, stone figurines. His new Lightless army, all assembled for him neatly. With an army such as this, each with their own unique powers and abilities, he was certain he could pick out one that could utterly destroy the new Guardians of Gaia, thus winning the entirety of Gaia for the darkness.

"Why don't you just summon them all?" Darkea asked, practicing a one-handed hand-stand on her sword, which was stuck in the ground.

"You don't realize just how much energy that'd require, do you?" Walker countered. "ONE Lightless needs the darkness that makes up at least a dozen Blots in order to be awakened. Then I need to keep it contained in the figurine so it ain't cancelled out, and if worst comes to worst, I need to be able to funnel enough darkness into it to make it grow. I'm STILL trying to reclaim the energy from using the Minotaur Lightless earlier."

"So you can only do one per day?" Darkea inquired. "THAT sounds pretty pathetic."

"Tch, if SOMEONE had taken the time to learn Shadowmancy, we could have more than that," Walker muttered.

"Yeah, when I feel like hanging around on the sidelines and letting someone else have all the fun, I'll study up on it," Darkea scoffed. "Speaking of which, when AM I gonna get a shot at the new Guardians?"

Walker took one of the figurines out of the cabinet, looking it over. "Patience, sister. Tomorrow, we're going to pay a certain village of Night Elves a visit. You know the one."

Darkea grinned, flipping off her sword and pulling it from the floor. "About time."

* * *

Nikki groaned, walking out into the garden chamber Jowar had created for the Ancient Library. It was morning, and she had decided to check in with the old wizard. Sure enough, he was watering the plants. Apparently, gardening was a hobby of his, alongside reading just about every single book in the Ancient Library, of which there HAD to be thousands.

"Good morning, Nichelle!" Jowar greeted happily upon noticing her arrival. "How did you and the others sleep?"

"Ugh, it was awful," Nikki muttered, rubbing her eyes.

"Were the beds not to your liking?" Jowar asked.

"No no, they were fine," Nikki said quickly. "It's just, first there was debate on the sleeping arrangements, since everyone wanted a top bunk. We ended up arm wrestling for them, and of COURSE me and Dirk won. But then Layla refused to sleep in the same bed with her sister, so Dirk gave up his bed and slept on the floor. Of course, then he started SNORING, and it took forever for ANY of us to get to sleep."

"I believe I have a few sets of earplugs, in case you all want them," Jowar offered.

Nikki half-smiled. "It's not just the snoring. It's US. We're not getting along like we should be."

Jowar cocked an eyebrow at this. "And how SHOULD you be getting along?"

"I dunno, like a team?" Nikki replied. "Take Madilyn for example. She still thinks of this like the crystallography club and that she should be in charge, except that she's not a good decision maker at all. She just does whatever she wants to, regardless of what the group thinks. She and Patrick are always getting on each other's nerves, and of course her antics constantly embarrass poor Layla."

"I see," Jowar muttered, stroking his beard. "Still, I'm sure the rest get along just fine, correct?"

* * *

"All I'm saying is that the Zords are clearly machines," Layla said, eating her sandwich at the kitchen table. "They've been programmed to behave like animals, but they probably don't feel PAIN."

"And I'm telling you that's not it at all!" Dirk insisted, taking a giant bite out of his own sandwich. "They may have the bodies of machines, but they ARE living creatures where it counts most, and we should be careful about using them in battle!"

"Yes, because LOTS of animals have cockpits, manual controls, and can combine into giant robots," Layla scoffed.

"Yeah, well-" Dirk started to counter until something clicked in his head. "Wait, what?"

Layla rolled her eyes, pulling out the book Jowar had been reading the day before and opening it to a page showing the five Gaia Zords combined into a single figure. "See? It says here that the Gaia Zords can combine to become one super-powered robot that pools the energy of all five Zords."

Patrick, who had been staying out of this conversation and enjoying his cereal up until now, leaned in to read. "Wow, that IS awesome! Wonder why we weren't told about that yesterday?"

"Well, it says here the Guardians could only combine the Zords by using a special crystal and keeping in sync as a team," Layla noted, looking concerned.

"Pfft, that's no biggie!" Madilyn interjected, eating some graham crackers. "Under my leadership, we're a well-oiled fighting force the likes of which neither world has ever seen!"

The others just stared at Madilyn like she was completely bonking insane, Dirk clearing his throat and saying "Yeah, let's just hold back on the giant robot for a while. I mean, I doubt we'll really NEED it. After all, we took out bull face yesterday."

"Yeah, well, I get the feeling the next one's gonna be a bit tougher than just holding his horns down," Pat pointed out. "This isn't like high school wrestling, Dirk. Coming from the farm doesn't necessarily mean you're the biggest, baddest man to hit the mat here. Heck, there's not even a mat this time."

"Yeah?" Dirk inquired with a chortle. "Well, somehow I don't think it'll be like those fencing, parkour, or meteorology classes, either. So, when you run outta ways to poke, dodge, or...I dunno, out-predict-storms monsters, lemme know when you need me to step in."

* * *

Jowar sighed, sitting back and stroking his beard. "I see, I see. So then, the problem is all them?"

Nikki looked away, frowning sadly. "No...It's me too. Me especially, actually."

Jowar just looked on inquisitively, so Nikki explained, resting her arms on a ledge. "I'm the outsider that makes everything immediately worse upon entering. Madilyn feels threatened 'cuz the others look at me like a leader, which, for the record, I never asked for. I feel like, just by being here, I make everything automatically worse for the group."

Jowar opened his mouth, looking to object, when he was cut off by an alarm going off in the main chamber. "Sounds like trouble!"

Stomping his staff down to the floor, Jowar immediately teleported the two to the main chamber of the Ancient Library, where the torches were roaring and the globe was highlighting a location in Gaia. Within moments, the others joined up with them, just as the globe zoomed in on a small village in the woods. There, a group of indigo-skinned elves were running from Blots while the warriors of their group took on the monsters with swords and bows.

"Oh dear!" Jowar observed. "It seems the village of Night Elf runaways has been found!"

"Night Elf runaways?" Layla inquired.

"When the darkness began consuming the other elements, there were those attuned to it that disagreed with such practices," Jowar explained. "These Night Elves have been on the run for centuries."

"Think they'll be able to take care of the Blots?" Dirk asked, just as the globe showed the image of a Werelion Lightless stampeding through the Night Elf warriors. "...I retract my previous question."

"Let's get in there, then!" Nikki proclaimed. " **It's Morphin Time!** "

At this call, the team pulled their crystals from their chains, unholstered their Crystal Blast Morphers, and inserted the crystals inside. They then raised their blasters skyward, pulling the triggers and yelling, " _ **Guardians of Gaia, AWAKEN!**_ " The rainbow coloured blasts shot out, spiraling around each other in the air, before doubling back and coating the team with energy, their Ranger suits materializing over their clothes.

"Port us there, Jowar!" Madilyn exclaimed, to which the elderly wizard raised his staff and teleported the group to just outside the village, behind enemy lines.

"Let's back up the Night Elves, you guys!" Nikki ordered. " **Crystal Blast Morphers!** "

The five all readied their blasters and charged in, blasting down any Blot that moved. Patrick shot one in the knee, bringing it down so he could get a running leap up and off its shoulders, shooting every Blot he passed over before kicking one square in the eye, destroying it before he landed where it once stood. Seeing another dash toward him, the Green Ranger ran in close and slid between its legs before throwing his arm back and shooting it down.

"Lights out, Blots!" Pat yelled triumphantly.

Dirk gave a loud yell, clotheslining one Blot down before turning and doing the same to one trying to catch him off guard. Seeing five more head his way, the Orange Ranger grabbed the second one he'd clotheslined by the legs and swung it at the group before firing a charged shot from his blaster, blowing the group away.

"And THAT's what I call 'gettin' 'er done'!" Dirk exclaimed.

"Whoa, 'scuse me!" Layla cried, ducking and dodging between Blots while blasting as many as she could down. Eventually, though, one caught her with a lucky shot across the helmet, followed by several claw shots that sent her flying back, sparks flying off her suit. Before hitting a small hut, though, the Blue Ranger managed to shoot said Blots down, though she didn't have much chance to enjoy it as her back thudded against the wall of said hut, causing her to drop her Crystal Blast Morpher as more Blots honed in on her.

"Uh, any chance we could talk?" Layla suggested, all the while waiting for them to get close enough to bring out her Flood Launcher and take them all down at once.

The Blots growled, running in to attack, only to get caught off guard by a frenzy of blasts, Madilyn charging in to wipe them all out. "Sis! You okay?!"

"I had it under control!" Layla insisted, getting back up quickly and scooping up her blaster.

"Didn't look like it to me!" Madilyn argued, shooting a random Blot to the side. "And even if you did, can you blame me for wanting to save my little sister?"

"Yes, when you have better things to do!" Layla shouted, blasting a Blot charging at Madilyn from over her older sister's shoulder.

Suddenly, a Blot was dropped from the roof above them, Nikki landing beside it. "Girls, focus! That Blot almost jumped you both!"

"Hey, you're not the boss of me!" Madilyn yelled, turning her attention on the Red Ranger.

"I never said I was!" Nikki shouted back. "I'm just trying to keep everyone focused on getting the job done!"

Once their backs were turned, the three were quickly caught off-guard as the Werelion Lightless charged past, slashing its claws across the Rangers and sending them tumbling to the ground. The girls quickly started to get back up, but were too slow to react as the Lightless turned and slashed his claws forward, sending black energy slashes straight for them. The ensuing explosion destroyed the hut next to them and sent them crashing into nearby trees, knocking the wind out of them.

"Oh shoot!" Dirk cursed as he and Patrick caught sight of this from a few yards away. "C'mon, we gotta get in there!"

"Not today!" a voice called, just as a grey skinned woman in black and red armour leaped in and slashed them both to the ground with a rather nasty looking sword. The two boys got back to their feet as the woman looked them over cockily.

"And who are you supposed to be?" Patrick asked.

"They call me Darkea," the woman replied. "My brother Walker sends his best wishes."

"Great, can't wait to meet the rest of the family," Dirk said snarkily, pressing his thumb to the shield emblem on his buckle. " **Quake Ax!** "

" **Storm Lance!** " Pat yelled as he did the same, the two getting their weapons and charging Darkea. Unfortunately, her strikes were too powerful for the Green Ranger, knocking his Storm Lance loose and putting him down in the dirt with ease, and she was too fast for the Orange Ranger, dodging his attacks like they were barely even there, and then catching him in the neck with the hilt of her blade, knocking him down.

"If you're done embarrassing yourselves, can we do this for real now?" Darkea asked, giggling evilly.

Meanwhile, things weren't doing much better for the girls. Madilyn charged the Werelion Lightless with her blaster in one hand and her Gaia Saber in the other, only to be quickly kicked in the gut and knocked back into Nikki and Layla, both similarly armed.

"I told you not to-" Nikki started to groan through the pain.

"Shut up!" Madilyn yelled, hand on her back. "Y'know, for someone who isn't the leader, you sure bark out a lot of orders!"

"I just-" The Red Ranger began to shoot back before letting her shoulders slump, exasperated. "Just hang back. I'll try to keep it still so you guys can attack."

"That's insane, Nikki!" Layla cried. "At that close range, those claws could tear you apart!"

"Let me worry about that," Nikki replied, putting a thumb to her buckle. " **Heat Sabers!** "

Receiving her weapons, the Red Ranger let out a battle cry and charged the Werelion Lightless. She moved as swiftly as she could, trying to keep up with it, but at her fastest, Nikki only came slightly close to being as fast as the Werelion Lightless, taking a few slashes while trying to keep it in one place. She couldn't help but wince in pain, but tried her best to fight through it, only to get slashed so hard, she spun in mid-air, sparks sailing off her suit as she fell to the ground.

"Nikki, stop it!" Madilyn screamed. "That monster'll destroy you!"

"Have to...keep fighting..." Nikki groaned, talking to herself in slight delirium, slowly getting back to her feet. "For the team...Have to do my part...so I'm not just the outsider..."

Madilyn blinked in shock, overhearing these words. "...Is that what she thinks of herself as?"

Layla looked to her sister, likewise blown away. "That's wrong. That's SO wrong!"

Madilyn shook her head hard, pounding a fist on the ground. "How could I not notice that? What kinda club leader can't tell when her members are getting down on themselves?"

Suddenly, Madilyn's thought process was cut off as Nikki cried out in pain, having been thrown against a tree. Looking around, the Violet Ranger grabbed hold of her blaster and sword, only to stop for a second as she spotted Layla's, an idea forming in her head.

"Sis, cover me?" Madilyn asked, offering up her Crystal Blast Morpher.

Layla nodded, getting the idea and trading her saber for her sister's blaster. "You got it!"

With both swords in hand, the Violet Ranger charged the Werelion Lightless, slashing it across the arm as it was keeping Nikki pinned to the tree. Once free, Nikki swung her Heat Sabers along with Madilyn's weapons, the monster still stunned from the last attack and unable to defend itself as it was forced back. They then stabbed their weapons forward, the Werelion catching them in its massive claws, but Nikki and Madilyn smirked as it fell into the trap. With its feet planted, the Lightless was quickly caught in a twin charged shot of Water and Lightning from Layla, sending it sailing straight through a nearby hut.

Nikki fell to a knee, removing her helmet and catching her breath. "That was actually a pretty good plan, Madilyn."

"Tell me the truth," the Violet Ranger quickly demanded, pulling her own helmet off. "Do you really think of yourself as the outsider of this team?"

Nikki frowned, cursing herself for saying that aloud. "...Well, the truth is, ever since I joined, you guys HAVE been arguing a lot. I mean, with them thinking of me as the leader-"

Madilyn shook her head, putting a hand to the Red Ranger's shoulder. "That's just us, though! We bicker all the time! Honestly, we're so used to it, it's kind of part of how we operate! And as far as you being seen as the leader...well, you DO make pretty good calls in battle, except maybe for this time."

"I guess I just let it all get to me too much," Nikki admitted, getting back to her feet. "Do me a favour: If I ever pull a stunt like that again, hit me. HARD."

Madilyn giggled, playfully punching Nikki in the shoulder. "Deal."

"Hey, sweet as this bonding session is, we should probably get back to fighting," Layla interjected, just as the Werelion Lightless started to stir in the rubble of the hut he'd crashed through. "Er, the monster, that is."

Nikki nodded, her and Madilyn putting their helmets back on. "Agreed. Let's show them what our team can REALLY do!"

At that time, a few yards away, Dirk was still trying to get a good shot in on Darkea with his Quake Ax, only to get parried and knocked back into Patrick with ease, the two getting tired out. "Dangit, I KNOW I could do some damage with my Quake Ax, if I could just hit her!"

Pat nodded, looking to his Storm Lance, when an idea popped into his head. "Hey, how about the old switcheroo/alley-oop?"

Dirk smirked, nodding. "Yer on!"

The two gripped their weapons, Patrick charging out in front of Dirk as Darkea prepared to knock the weaker Ranger aside, only for Pat to split his lance in half and toss the pieces over his shoulder while Dirk leaped up and tossed the Quake Ax high into the air. The Orange Ranger then grabbed both halves of the lance as he passed over Pat and brought them down in an X into Darkea's sword, causing her to stumble back. Patrick then leaped over Dirk, landing on his weapons as Dirk used them to shove him straight up into the air, the Green Ranger catching the Quake Ax and bringing it down on Darkea's armour, knocking her one way and her sword another.

"Nice shot!" Dirk commented, the two switching weapons back.

"Man, how do you swing that thing around all the time?" Pat asked, shaking his wrists.

"You should see my Uncle Larry's sledgehammer, 'Big Ted'," Dirk replied, the two jogging after Darkea.

" **Lightning Daggers!** " Madilyn yelled a few yards away, slashing her electrified daggers across the Werelion Lightless and causing it to stumble back.

" **Flood Launcher!** " Layla shouted, opening fire with her cannon and knocking the monster back into a tree.

" **Heat Bow!** " Nikki called, combining her Heat Sabers into their bow form. An arrow materialized in her right hand, which she pulled back with the newly formed string on the bow, before firing it at the Lightless. Unfortunately, the arrow missed, but it DID hit the tree the monster was backed against, blowing it up and sending the beast sailing through the air, crashing next to Darkea.

"Oops!" Nikki said, feeling embarrassed.

"Remind me to help you with your aim," Layla muttered.

"I specialized in karate and fencing, not archery," Nikki commented as the two of them rushed up to meet Madilyn, Patrick and Dirk quickly following.

"You brats," Darkea groaned, she and the monster getting back up. "Who do you think you are?!"

"Why don't we tell her, guys?" Madilyn suggested, the five forming up.

"Guardian of Fire!" Nikki yelled as a red ember-like light burned around her. "Red Gaia Ranger!"

"Guardian of Wind!" Patrick called as green light whipped up like a gust of wind. "Green Gaia Ranger!"

"Guardian of Water!" Layla shouted as blue light splashed over her like water. "Blue Gaia Ranger!"

"Guardian of Earth!" Dirk roared as orange light came off the dirt like sand in the wind. "Orange Gaia Ranger!"

"Guardian of Lightning!" Madilyn called as violet light crackled around her like electricity. "Violet Gaia Ranger!"

The five all struck a group pose as a large silver flash of light came up around them, followed by five rainbow coloured explosions. " _ **Power Rangers, Guardians of Gaia!**_ "

"Let's bring 'em together!" Nikki ordered, the five bringing their weapons together into their assembled cannon form.

" _ **Gaia Blaster!**_ " the Rangers yelled, keeping it held up and aiming the cannon at the Werelion Lightless. " _ **FIRE!**_ "

Layla pulled the trigger, sending a five-pointed blast of fire, wind, water, earth, and lightning energy at the Werelion Lightless. The monster was hit hard by the beams, collapsing in a gigantic explosion that sent a wisp of black smog into the air, Darkea being knocked away by the shock wave. The dark warrior woman growled, getting back to a knee.

"You think this is over?!" Darkea demanded as the five disassembled the Gaia Blaster, readying themselves for round 2, only for Darkea to look straight up to the sky and scream, "WALKER!"

* * *

Walker gave a small smirk, watching everything in the black flames of his fireplace. "Not so easy, is it, sister? No matter. Dark Staff of the Wyvern, make my Lightless grow!"

The Shadowmancer lifted his staff up over the fireplace, the wyvern head on top opening its jaws and spewing a thick, black smog out into the fire, causing it to grow larger. Walker watched the image in the flames as the black smog above the Night Elf village was fed dark flames, causing the Werelion Lightless to reform as a giant, its power fully restored.

"Feel lucky I didn't make YOU grow, sister," Walker scoffed, watching on.

* * *

The Rangers watched as the monster was suddenly brought back into its giant form, Nikki drawing her Gaia Saber. "Guess they never learn!"

" ** _We need Gaia Zord power, now!_** " the five called out, inserting their crystals into their sabers and raising them to the sky. The sabers sent out beams of light through the sky, eventually settling on five locations: The Phoenix Zord took off from the top of a tall mountain; The Hippogriff Zord came barreling out of a cluster of clouds; The Leviathan Zord raised itself out of a lake and slithered along the land; The Behemoth Zord came charging out of a tall, dense forest; Finally, the Thunderbird Zord came swooping out of a dark thundercloud.

"Let's do it!" Nikki yelled, leaping up to her Gaia Zord, as the others did theirs. The five were all caught in beams of light, bringing them into the cockpits of their Zords.

"Rangers, log on!" Nikki ordered, inserting her weapons into their slots.

"Patrick here and feeling lucky!" Patrick responded.

"Layla here, all systems go!" Layla replied.

"This is Dirk, ready to kick some butt!" Dirk shouted.

"This thing has a STEREO?!" Madilyn exclaimed. "How did I not notice that before?!"

The Phoenix Zord let out a loud screech, launching fireballs from its mouth. However, the Werelion Lightless was too fast, running through the fire and the flames before they could scorch it. The Leviathan Zord managed to coil itself around it, but the monster quickly slashed it off with its claws, sending it rolling across the ground.

"Whoa, I'm getting dizzy!" Layla cried, trying to right her Zord.

"Hang on, sis!" Madilyn shouted. "Thunderbird's got you covered!"

The Thunderbird Zord cawed loudly, firing blasts of lightning from its eyes, forcing the Werelion Lightless to back off. The Behemoth Zord stomped over, launching the tips of its horns as missiles at the monster, only for them to get swatted away, but were able to distract the Lightless just enough for the Hippogriff Zord to swoop in and stomp its hooves into its face, knocking it to the ground. Unfortunately, it wasn't down for long, as it quickly got back to its feet and send black slashes at the Hippogriff, Phoenix, and Thunderbird Zords, grounding them.

"Darnit, we're not doing enough damage!" Dirk cursed. "We've gotta do something!"

"C'mon, man, we'll get this sucker!" Pat yelled back. "All we gotta do is hold its claws down and wrestle it to the ground!"

Dirk smirked. "Nice, but I'm thinking something with a bit more finesse might be needed."

"I was thinking something like grouping up and wiping the floor with this Lightless!" Madilyn noted.

"Me too!" Layla agreed.

"Me three!" Nikki shouted. "Let's give it everything we've got!"

Suddenly, a shimmering light appeared before Nikki in the cockpit. Reaching up, she grabbed hold of it, revealing a crystal made up of all five of their colours. At that exact moment, the same thing happened with the others, who all took hold of the new crystals.

"Whoa, what are these?" Dirk asked.

"Rangers!" the group heard Jowar declare over the comm. "These are the Unity Crystals! By proving your ability to think and operate as a team, you've earned these new crystals! Use them together, and the Zords will combine as one!"

Nikki thought it over for a second before opening the compartment of her Gaia Saber, removing her crystal. "Let's do it, guys!"

" _ **Right!**_ " the others called, removing their crystals from the sabers before they all inserted the Unity Crystals. " _ **Gaia Zords, combine!**_ "

The five Gaia Zords all cried out, charging forward. The Behemoth Zord leaped up into the air, its body shifting around to resemble a giant torso of sorts, its head now covering its chest. The Leviathan Zord twisted its body around before most of its body lifted up to latch onto the Behemoth Zord, its head and the end of its tail forming the right and left feet while the rest formed a hip and legs. The Phoenix and Thunderbird Zords cawed as they curled their wings and talons in, forming the right and left arms of the giant robot as human-like hands emerged from their beaks. Finally, the Hippogriff Zord landed on the back, wings spreading out, and its head rested atop the robot, its beak opening wide to reveal a humanoid head inside. The five Rangers found their cockpits sliding back to the head, becoming one large cockpit.

" _ **Gaia Megazord, power up!**_ " the five cried as the robot came to life, curling its steel fingers into fists.

The Werelion Lightless roared at its foes' united form, which stood as tall as it now. It ran in close and slashed the Megazord hard across the chest, causing it to take a single step back, but leaving the robot generally unharmed.

"Our turn!" Dirk yelled. "Hit it, girls!"

" **Phoenix Peck!** " Nikki called, the Megazord giving the Lightless a right hook filled with fire in the face.

" **Thunder Caw!** " Madilyn shouted as the Gaia Megazord followed up with a left hook, nailing the Werelion in the face with an electricity-filled punch.

" **Levia Bite!** " Layla cried, the Gaia Megazord spinning on its left foot before delivering a roundhouse kick with the right, the Leviathan Zord's jaws filled with ice that bit down on the monster as it connected. The Werelion Lightless crashed to the ground, rolling to its knees as it tried to get up.

"Alley-oop, Pat?" Dirk asked, getting a nod from the Green Ranger.

"Let's tame this lion!" Patrick suggested as the Hippogriff Zord's wings spread out wide, the Gaia Megazord leaping up and sailing through the air. It swooped down at the Lightless, power flowing into its fists from all five Zords.

" _ **Storm Punch!**_ " the five called as the Gaia Megazord slammed the monster with a flying double punch of fire and lightning, sending the Lightless sailing through the air before crashing and rolling across the ground, sparking with damage. Finally, after a few moments, it collapsed in a massive explosion, black smog rising up into the sky before it dissolved into nothingness.

"Alright!" Madilyn cheered as the five hooped and hollered, exchanging high fives and fist bumps.

"You lose again, Walker!" Nikki shouted, hoping the Shadowmancer could hear her.

* * *

Walker sat in his chair, watching as his sister limped in. Her armour had dents and dings all over, her sword was covered in scratches, and she had a scar over her right eye that was only now just beginning to heal with dark energies. She sat in her own chair, opposite of her brother, trying not to match his glance. Walker just folded his arms, tapping his fingers on his elbow.

"...Go ahead!" Darkea finally said.

"I'm not fixing your armour," Walker told her. "Also, you're going to learn Shadowmancy, even if it destroys you."

"Well, y'know, to be fair, they only won out there because of teamwork," Darkea replied, squirming a little. "And I just think that if we were to work on our teamwork a bit in the field-"

"I will raise our mother and get HER to make you learn Shadowmancy," Walker threatened.

"Wow, I suddenly feel like hitting the books!" Darkea proclaimed, getting up and walking over to a stack of books as quickly as she could.

* * *

Nikki sighed, laying her head back against her pillow, resting in bed. After a hard day's work, both repelling the bad guys and helping the Night Elves erect a force field around their village, she was glad to finally call it a night. She looked around at the beds about her, as Patrick laid in the one beneath her, Dirk was on the top bunk across from her, and Layla and Madilyn shared the bed underneath him. It seemed it was just as Madilyn had said: Yes, they bickered and fought a lot, to the point where people on the outside looking in might think they hated each other, but they were honestly the best of friends when it mattered most.

"Makes me envious," Nikki admitted, getting everyone's attention. "You guys. You can be so hostile towards each other, and it doesn't even touch how close you are. I've never had a group of friends that tight."

"Well, fearless leader, in case it hasn't occurred to you already, you do now," Patrick corrected, only to be stunned when Layla threw a pillow at his head. "What the-?!"

"Madilyn didn't have a clear enough shot," Layla said quickly, looking apologetic as Madilyn laid back with her arms crossed behind her head, smirking cockily.

"That's it," Patrick said, smiling deviously as he got out of bed and belly-flopped into the bed across from him. "Hippogriff Flop!"

"Do I need to separate you two?!" Nikki demanded, trying to hold back the giggles as Patrick and Madilyn engaged in the wimpiest slap-fest she had ever seen.

"You know you wanna," Dirk noted.

Nikki smiled, getting out of bed and scurrying down the steps of the bunk-beds to get in the middle of the two, pulling them apart by their ears. From the other side of the door, Jowar listened to the five and their antics, chuckling to himself as he knew they'd be alright. He walked back to the main chamber, suddenly stopping as he entered, stroking his beard as a thought struck his mind.

_Five of them,_ he pondered. _But there were SIX Guardians in ancient times, weren't there? I suppose it could be a mistake, but...if there WAS a sixth Guardian, then what became of their crystal?_

* * *

Drayden groaned as he felt the conscious world come back to him. He dragged himself to his feet, feeling something in his hand: The indigo crystal that had been embedded in the dragon statue. He looked around, seeing himself on dark stone in the middle of a dense, grey fog, his father nowhere to be seen. The ground was littered with dull-looking crystals, and sticking out of it was a large, two-handed sword, the hilt of which was emblazoned with an emblem resembling a dragon's eye.

"Hello?!" he called out, not noticing an ink-black figure emerge from behind the sword in the ground. "Is anybody out there?!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, as you can probably tell, Drayden and his father are gonna have a bigger story in all of this as time goes by. But let's not spoil anything yet. Instead, let's talk about the Gaia Zords!
> 
> Nikki's Gaia Zord is the Phoenix Zord. While it isn't the central Zord in their combination, instead becoming the right arm, it is nonetheless the one that ties the group together, as its head is the basis for the shape of the Crystal Blast Morphers. The Phoenix Zord tends to hide atop the tallest mountains of Gaia when not on call for a mission. It can breathe fireballs, rake its talons across foes, and coat itself in flames for high-speed flying tackles.
> 
> Patrick's Gaia Zord is the Hippogriff Zord, which is usually hiding out in the clouds before being summoned to help out. It can use high-speed barrel and aileron rolls to whip up whirlwinds, and can stomp down on foes with its hooves. It forms the head and part of the back of the Gaia Megazord, and gives it wings.
> 
> Layla's Gaia Zord is the Leviathan Zord, a giant sea serpent that usually rests between battles in one of Gaia's many lakes and oceans. However, it's no slouch on land, slithering across the ground too fast for most opponents to catch. It also moves through the water like a jet flies through the air, and fires ice blasts from its mouth at enemies. The Leviathan Zord also forms the hips, legs, and feet of the Gaia Megazord.
> 
> Dirk's Gaia Zord is the Behemoth Zord, a large quadruped that prefers to use the dense forests of Gaia as its hiding place. It has long, curved horns that it uses to ram foes like a bull, and can fire the tips like missiles. It can also stomp the ground to cause small earthquakes. The Behemoth Zord forms the torso of the Gaia Megazord.
> 
> Madilyn's Gaia Zord is the Thunderbird Zord, which generally hides in thunderclouds between missions. It can fly high speeds, launch thunderbolt-like feathers out of its wings, and shoot blasts of electricity from its eyes. The Thunderbird Zord forms the left arm of the Gaia Megazord.
> 
> Finally, all five Gaia Zords, through the use of the Unity Crystals, can combine into the Gaia Megazord, a giant robot controlled by the Gaia Rangers. I used the Ninja MegaFalconzord as a base for the design (although without a sixth Zord forming the head, giving the Hippogriff Zord double duty), and it thus has similar dimensions. It can fly through the air with the wings provided by the Hippogriff Zord, and is capable of a number of attacks that utilize the different Zords that form it. However, its finishing blow is the Storm Punch, a flying double punch of fire and electricity that funnels the energy of all five Zords into its fists.
> 
> Next time on Power Rangers Guardians of Gaia, Layla gets to work on analyzing and upgrading the team's equipment, but is that enough to stop the newest Lightless to attack? Ja né!


	4. Chapter 4

_One has to wonder how the Gaians, having existed so long ago, had such advanced technology, the likes of which they used to create the Gaia Zords and the rest of the Guardians' equipment. Still, a more intriguing thought I've had for many years was whether a modern human mind, filled with the knowledge of all the technological wonders we've achieved, would be a benefit or a detriment to such technology._

* * *

Layla smiled, wiping the sweat from her brow as she admired her handiwork. Sure, it'd taken her most of the night to finish them, but she did it: Five silver bracelets, each with a maroon-coloured crystal embedded into them and with a phoenix emblem carved around the crystals. The phoenix had two smaller gems for eyes: One yellow, one blue. This was just the kind of accessory the team had needed since arriving in Gaia, and now that they had them, it was going to make their work MUCH easier.

"Morning, sis!" Madilyn called as she and the others entered the main chamber of the Ancient Library. "Is that project of yours finished?"

Layla smiled. "You bet! Check 'em out!"

The other four walked over to see the bracelets, Dirk scratching his head in confusion. "So, what are these for?"

"Those bracelets are fixed with Communication Crystals," Jowar declared, entering the room. "They will allow you to keep in contact with each other and myself, no matter where you are in Gaia."

"I also had Jowar enchant the bracelets themselves with his teleportation spell," Layla continued, setting one of the bracelets on her wrist. "Now, no matter where we are, we can teleport to each other, to the Ancient Library, and anywhere else we want."

"Although the latter requires that someone be here to select said location on the globe," Jowar noted as the others all took one of the bracelets and put them on.

"Awesome!" Madilyn exclaimed. "I can't wait to try 'em out in the field!"

"Y'know, we should probably do a quick test with these right away," Patrick pointed out, "while things are relatively quiet."

"Good idea," Nikki commented. "Who wants to play guinea pig?"

Dirk scratched his chin, thinking. "Here's a nice, simple test: How's about I stand at the other end of the room, then teleport to you guys?"

"Sounds simple enough," Layla replied. "Just picture the person you wanna teleport to, then press the yellow gem."

Dirk gave a quick thumbs up, running over to the other end of the room. Once there, he did as instructed, creating a mental image of Nikki in his mind, then pressing the yellow gem. In an instant, he found himself being transported as an orange ray of light. However, instead of appearing next to Nikki, he found himself coming out of teleport atop the tall bookshelves to her right, several feet above the group. Dirk gave a quick yelp, nearly tumbling off the shelves and having to cling to it to keep from falling.

"Oh shoot!" Layla cursed. "THAT wasn't supposed to happen!"

"YA THINK?!" Dirk shouted from atop the bookshelves. "SOMEONE GET ME DOWN!"

"Hang on, Dirk!" Nikki yelled, running to grab one of the ladders used for reaching the higher books.

Layla sighed, slumping back into her chair. "Back to square one, I guess..."

* * *

Darkea groaned, being forcibly handed the Dark Staff of the Wyvern by her brother. "Are you SURE this is a good idea?"

"Quit complaining and just try it already!" Walker insisted as a group of Blots formed up before her. One of them was holding a Lightless figurine, shaking rather nervously as it and its group were summoned to become the test subjects for Darkea's first attempt at awakening a monster.

Darkea gulped holding the staff up. "Alright then. Dark Staff of the Wyvern, funnel the darkness, and awaken the Lightless from its slumber!"

Concentrating hard, Darkea could feel the staff bend the dark energies of the Blots to her will. Soon, all but the Blot holding the figurine were turned to black vapor, which was poured into the figurine. It then rose up out of the Blot's hands and melted into its face, causing it to grow a bit until its new body burst out in dark smog. It was an ant, with two stick-like legs, four narrow but powerful arms, sharp-looking mandibles, and a pair of antennae that emitted a dark light from their tips.

"Aha!" Darkea cried. "I did it!"

Walker rolled his eyes. "Tch. Yes, you managed to awaken an ANT. That's far and away from the sort of legendary creatures I've been setting against the Power Rangers."

Darkea smirked darkly. "Oh, dear brother, you have NO idea what THIS ant is capable of. I can assure you that what it lacks in legendary stature and feats, it more than makes up for in raw power, something the Rangers are going to learn very soon..."

"GRAAAAH!" the Ant Lightless roared, flexing its arms and gritting its mandibles. "Let me at those weaklings in the light! I'll make my colony out of those holes they call towns!"

* * *

Nikki let out a hard sigh as she entered the main chamber from her work-out, a towel draped over the back of her neck. She looked over at Layla, still working away at the bracelets. She'd been at this for nearly 11 hours now, with only occasional drinks and snacks to keep her fueled. If she didn't get some sleep soon, she was going to collapse, and Nikki knew this. Madilyn, who was seated near Nikki while reading a book on the Gaian Crystals, quickly caught her glance, putting a hand on Nikki's shoulder and shaking her head.

"Forget it," she said. "It doesn't matter what you say to her, she will not stop. Trust me, I know my sis like the back of my hand, and once she gets to work inventing something, no one and nothing can keep her from achieving her goal, especially after a mess-up like earlier."

Nikki sighed. "I get that the communicators didn't work quite right, but-"

"No, you don't get it," Madilyn cut her off. "Sure, Dirk wound up on the bookshelves and even HE thinks it was hilarious in retrospect, but to Layla, all she can think about is how that could've turned out so much worse. I mean, far as she knows, he could've materialized INSIDE the bookshelves, he could've been buried underground, he could've had his body merged with yours in some freaky Nikki/Dirk hybrid-looking-"

"Okay, okay, I got it!" Nikki insisted, holding her hands up and looking ill. "Thanks for the nightmare fuel. I may never sleep again after that."

Suddenly, the torches around the room began burning much brighter as the alarm went off throughout the Ancient Library. Within seconds, Dirk, Patrick, and Jowar entered the room, Jowar going to observe the viewing globe. Said globe showed the image of a group of centaur knights outside a town with tall, stone walls erected around it, attempting to fight off a horde of Blots marching toward the giant doors leading inside. Elven archers were attempting to keep the Blots at bay, but they kept coming, while the Elves were running low on arrows.

"Those Blots won't stop!" Patrick observed. "Where the heck are they coming from?"

"The Blots in that area have always been large in number due to an imbalance of light and dark energies that pass through there," Jowar explained. "Of course, the defenses for that town have always been able to repel them. It seems that the Shadowmancers are granting the Blots there additional numbers for one big attack."

"Walker and Darkea," Nikki observed. "Guess they haven't learned we're not going anywhere anytime soon."

Layla sighed, getting up from the table. "FINE. I can finish these when I get back..."

Nikki nodded, the five getting into formation as Jowar teleported them just behind a group of centaur knights trying to fight off the Blot hordes. "Let's take 'em out, guys! **It's Morphin Time!** "

The team ran forward, pulling their crystals from their chains and unholstering their Crystal Blast Morphers. As they reached the centaurs, they leaped up and flipped off their backs, inserted the crystals into their blasters, and pulled the triggers while yelling, " _ **Guardians of Gaia, AWAKEN!**_ " The rainbow coloured blasts shot out, knocking the lead Blots away, before twisting back around and coating the team with energy, their Ranger suits materializing as they landed on the ground.

"Guardian of Fi-!" Nikki started to yell, before Dirk grabbed her by the arms.

"Whoa, whoa, maybe we should wait for THESE guys to get out from behind us?" the Orange Ranger suggested, hiking a thumb at the centaurs behind them.

"How come?" Madilyn inquired.

"Well, 'cuz of the random flashes and explosions?" Dirk suggested, getting odd looks from everyone. "...You aren't honestly gonna tell me you never noticed? C'mon, every time we do our roll call, there's all these lights that go off around us, followed by these gigantic explosions! How am I the only one to notice that?"

"I guess it just never registered with me?" Patrick admitted, rubbing the back of his helmet as the centaurs cleared out from behind them.

"H-How can you NOT notice the five-story explosions going off and just missing your butt?!" Dirk demanded.

"Guys, they're forming up," Layla pointed out, the hordes of Blots regaining their bearings.

"Sure are a lot of 'em," Nikki observed, grinning as she got an idea. "Say, Dirk? How big are those explosions?"

Dirk smirked, getting where she was going. "VERY big."

"That's all I needed to hear!" the Red Ranger yelled, flipping into the middle of a group of Blots. "Guardian of Fire! Red Gaia Ranger!"

With this cry, a series of red ember-like lights burned around her, scorching the Blots that gathered nearby. The others smiled as they leaped into their own packs of Blots, keeping a fair distance from each other.

"Guardian of Wind!" Patrick called as a green whirlwind of light whipped up, knocking the Blots back. "Green Gaia Ranger!"

"Guardian of Water!" Layla shouted as blue watery light soaked the Blots down. "Blue Gaia Ranger!"

"Guardian of Earth!" Dirk roared as orange sand-like light came off the dirt and stung the Blots in their eyes. "Orange Gaia Ranger!"

"Guardian of Lightning!" Madilyn called as violet light crackled across the Blots like lightning. "Violet Gaia Ranger!"

The five all struck a group pose as a large silver flash of light came up around them, followed by five rainbow-coloured explosions that sent the Blots flying in every direction. " _ **Power Rangers, Guardians of Gaia!**_ "

" **Gaia Sabers!** " Nikki yelled, the Rangers drawing their short sword side-arms. The Red Ranger immediately went to work slashing, shooting, and kicking anything that looked like a bad Rorschach test that came near her. Finally, one caught her blade, only for her to leap up, kick another Blot in the eye, and shoot two more before landing on her feet, retaking her blade, and stabbing the last Blot in the eye, destroying it. Looking ahead, she spotted Layla trying her best to fend off Blots, still not used to close-quarters combat and losing her grip on her Gaia Saber.

"Hang on, Layla!" Nikki cried, leaping over and tossing her blaster to the Blue Ranger, who caught it and began unloading on the Blots with Fire and Water blasts. Nikki scooped up her fallen Gaia Saber, looking around until she spotted Patrick ducking and weaving around foes. "Pat! Switch up?!"

The Green Ranger nodded, tossing his Crystal Blast Morpher over as she threw her Gaia Saber to him. The two caught each other's weapons, Patrick spinning and cutting with the dual swords while Nikki slashed and blasted Blots down. Layla wrapped up the last of the Blots around the three by laying down fire on their foes, taking them all down.

"Remind me to add that to our strategy memos back at base!" Layla said as the three gave each other their proper weapons back.

Meanwhile, Madilyn and Dirk were cleaning up their group of Blots, sending several more running for the hills. Just as they were starting to feel good about that, though, the Blots began to form up behind a much larger monster marching toward the two, its four arms flexing and its mandibles pinching together threateningly.

"So, these are the Power Rangers I've heard about?!" the Ant Lightless demanded. "And people call ants 'little insects'!"

"An ANT Lightless?" Madilyn inquired. "Huh, that's different. Oh well, let's kick its butt!"

"Madilyn, wait!" Dirk cried as the Violet Ranger charged the monster. "If it's like actual ants, it probably can-!"

" **Lightning Daggers!** " Madilyn shouted, ignoring the Orange Ranger and lunging at the monster. Unfortunately, she was quickly caught in the Ant Lightless' hands by her wrists and ankles and was raised high up into the air. The Ant then slashed its mandibles across her front, and tossed her to the ground, right back where she started. The Violet Ranger groaned as she felt herself demorphing, her suit dematerializing.

"...Can lift around 50 times its own body weight," Dirk finished, helping his friend back up. "Had a lot of ants on the farm that'd steal grain for the animals."

"Noted," Madilyn grunted, wincing.

"SIS!" Layla screamed as the others joined the two. "Are you okay?!"

"Please, like that thing could hurt me," Madilyn boasted, all too clearly faking.

"You jerk!" Layla shouted, looking to the monster. "I'm gonna squash this bug! **Flood Launcher!** "

The Blue Ranger brought out her massive blaster, opening fire on the Ant Lightless with tidal wave-like blasts of energy. However, to her shock, the monster just held its hands out, actually catching the blasts before shoving them back at the group, knocking them all onto their backsides.

"Is that the best you got?!" the Ant Lightless taunted. "My great-ant could bench bigger grains than you guys!"

Madilyn growled, getting back to her feet and firing her Crystal Blast Morpher, returning to her morphed state. "Guys, let's try the Gaia Blaster!"

"No!" Layla yelled, holding her sister back. "That thing's too strong! It'll just send it right back at us!"

"Well, you're the smart one, you figure out how to get a hit in!" Madilyn suggested.

"I...!" Layla stammered, trying to think. "...I-I don't know!"

* * *

Darkea grinned evilly, watching everything unfold with her brother in the black flames of their fireplace. "Alright, now for Phase Two: We make the Lightless and Blots grow, and then they can just squash the town and the Rangers flat!"

Walker blinked, confused. "...Wait, why didn't we OPEN with that?"

"I...don't know," Darkea admitted. "Whatever, just do it!"

"Tch, whatever," Walker growled, raising his staff over the fireplace. "Dark Staff of the Wyvern, make our forces grow!"

The wyvern head atop Walker's staff opened its jaw, spewing a thick, black smog out and into the fire, causing it to grow larger. Walker and Darkea laughed evilly as the flame burned bigger and hotter, feeling the Ant Lightless' energy expand out in the field of battle.

* * *

The Ant Lightless roared as a dark cloud formed overhead, funneling black flames into its body that caused it to grow in size and power. Likewise, several Blots were caught in the flame, turning from an army of several dozen smaller Blots into four giant-sized ones. The giant monsters growled menacingly at the Rangers, who immediately backed off, pulling their crystals from their morphers and placing them in their Gaia Sabers instead.

" ** _We need Gaia Zord power, now!_** " the team yelled, raising their swords to the sky.

"Red Phoenix Gaia Zord, power up!" Nikki called, her saber releasing a red stream of light toward a nearby mountain, the Phoenix Zord taking off from the top of it with flames trailing off of its wings.

"Green Hippogriff Gaia Zord, power up!" Patrick shouted, a green beam firing from his sword into some nearby clouds, the Hippogriff Zord barrel-rolling out of them.

"Blue Leviathan Gaia Zord, power up!" Layla exclaimed, her Gaia Saber releasing a blue blast into the lake, the Leviathan Zord lifting its neck out the water and roaring.

"Orange Behemoth Gaia Zord, power up!" Dirk cried, his sword launching an orange beam out and into the forest, the Behemoth Zord stomping out of it with its massive legs.

"Violet Thunderbird Gaia Zord, power up!" Madilyn summoned, sending a violet stream of light up out of her sword to create a thundercloud in the sky, the Thunderbird Zord sailing out of it.

"Let's get 'em!" Nikki shouted, leaping up to her Gaia Zord, as the others did their own. The five were all caught in beams of light fired out by their Zords, teleporting them directly into the Gaia Zord cockpits.

"Rangers, log on!" Nikki ordered, plugging her weapons into their slots.

"Green Ranger, feeling lucky!" Patrick replied.

"Blue Ranger, all systems go!" Layla responded.

"Orange Ranger, ready to action!" Dirk shouted.

"I'm the _**Ex**_ terminator, and 'I'll be back'!" Madilyn joked.

The five Gaia Zords split up, going for their respective targets. The Thunderbird Zord flapped its wings hard, firing thunderbolt-like feathers from its wings and destroying one Blot, just as the Phoenix Zord blew the one next to it away with fireballs fired from its beak. The Leviathan Zord used its long body to trip up the remaining two Blots, giving the Hippogriff Zord the chance to swoop down and stomp its hooves into their eyes, destroying both.

"All four Blots down and out!" Nikki noted. "Dirk, how are you handling the monster?"

"Not so great!" Dirk replied as the Ant Lightless actually lifted the Behemoth Zord up off the ground by its horns, swinging it around like a rag doll. "Getting a little air sick!"

"HA!" the Ant Lightless laughed. "Your Behemoth Zord is just an overgrown cow! I'M a REAL powerhouse!"

"Hang on, Dirk!" Pat yelled, sending the Hippogriff Zord into an aileron roll that created a whirlwind around itself, steering it for the Ant Lightless. To his astonishment, though, the monster simply reached out one of its free arms to punch the Hippogriff Zord in the beak, knocking it back before finally dropping the Behemoth Zord.

"Next?!" the Ant Lightless offered.

"Gladly!" Nikki answered, the Phoenix Zord coating itself in flames before swooping down at the monster, only to have its wings caught with its opponent's lower arms. The Thunderbird Zord opened fire with thunderbolts firing from its eyes, the Ant Lightless swatting them away with its remaining hands. However, with its attention distracted, the Leviathan Zord was able to blast it with icy breath, the Phoenix Zord likewise heaving flames from its beak into its front. This combination was enough to cause the monster to release the Phoenix Zord.

"I've had enough of this ant!" Madilyn shouted. "Let's make it wish it never crawled out of its colony!"

"Rangers, power up your Unity Crystals!" Nikki ordered, pressing her buckle and calling forth her rainbow-coloured crystal.

" _ **Right!**_ " the Rangers shouted back as they brought out their own Unity Crystals, switching out the crystals in their sabers for them. " _ **Gaia Zords, combine!**_ "

The five Gaia Zords immediately formed up, Behemoth Zord shifting its body around to form the torso of the Megazord. The Leviathan Zord latched onto the Behemoth Zord, becoming the hip, legs, and feet. The Phoenix and Thunderbird Zords curled their wings and talons in, forming the right and left arms and hands. Last of all, the Hippogriff Zord landed on the back, spread its wings out, and rested its head atop the robot, its beak opening to form the head. The five Rangers and their cockpits slid back to the head, becoming one bigger cockpit.

" _ **Gaia Megazord, power up!**_ " the five yelled, the giant robot coming to life.

"Gimme your best shot, Rangers!" the Ant Lightless shouted, looking undaunted.

" **Thunder Caw!** " Madilyn called, the Gaia Megazord throwing a left hook, only for the Ant Lightless to block the electrical punch.

" **Levia Bite!** " Layla cried, the Megazord spinning on its left foot before throwing a roundhouse kick with the right, the Ant Lightless again blocking by holding the Leviathan Zord's icy jaws closed. It then grabbed the other arm and leg in its unoccupied hands, lifting the giant robot off of the ground with relative ease. It then opened its mandibles wide, looking to bring them down on the Gaia Megazord's neck.

"Not this time!" Patrick shouted. " **Griff Gust!** "

The Gaia Megazord's eyes suddenly fired a pair of green, swirling energy beams, cutting across the Ant Lightless' face. The monster released the Gaia Megazord, stumbling back in pain as the Rangers finally managed to get a shot in.

" **Behemazooka**!" Dirk roared, the Behemoth Zord's jaws opened on the chest of the Megazord, letting loose an orange orb of energy that rammed into the Ant Lightless hard. It shoved the monster back quite a ways before the Lightless finally got all four hands under the orb and tossed it up into the air, where it exploded harmlessly.

"Dangit, those arms are too much!" Dirk cursed, pounding his console.

"Yeah, well, it may have four arms, but there's FIVE of us!" Madilyn insisted.

Layla blinked as a light-bulb suddenly went off in her head. "The five of us...Guys! Disassemble Megazord!"

"HUH?!" Patrick exclaimed. "The Megazord's the only thing big and bad enough to take this guy!"

"No, we're TOO big!" Layla countered. "We're too big a target, and against something that can toss us around like a big sack of rusty nails, that's not helping! But five targets instead of one, even with less power, might be able to do what we can't as one target!"

"I got'cha!" Nikki said with a smile. "We each take an arm..."

"And then Dirk lines up the final shot!" Layla finished.

"See, that IS better than anything I could come up with!" Madilyn exclaimed. "Told ya so!"

"Uh-huh, let's just blow this thing so we can go home!" Dirk said with a chuckle.

" _ **Gaia Megazord, power down!**_ " the Rangers yelled, the giant robot separating into its five smaller Zords. With the Ant Lightless stunned by this move, the Gaia Zords rushed it with their best attacks. The monster threw its fists out, looking to swat them all away, but at the last second, the Phoenix, Thunderbird, Leviathan, and Hippogriff Zords all opened their jaws wide and bit down on the Ant Lightless' hands.

"GAHHH!" the Ant Lightless roared in pain. "What are you doing?!"

"Finishing you off!" Nikki replied as the four Zords slowly managed to pull the arms apart from each other. "Dirk, NOW!"

"You got it!" Dirk yelled. "I've had enough of this monster's _**ant**_ ics!"

The Behemoth Zord roared, firing the tips of its horns like missiles at the Ant Lightless. The monster tried to intercept with its mandibles, only for them to be blown clean off in the ensuing twin explosions. It stumbled backward as the other Rangers released it, black mist and embers pouring from where its mandibles had been.

"What the-?!" Nikki stammered.

"What's happening to it?" Layla demanded.

* * *

Walker's eye twitched, turning to face his sister slowly as a VERY angry frown spread across his face. "...Darkea...!"

Darkea gave a nervous grin, scratching the back of her head. "Uhh, yeah, keeping the energy contained in a Lightless was pretty hard, and then I found out how tough the Ant Lightless' mandibles are, so I kinda just stored it all in them. I didn't really think they'd get past the arms and hit them, though."

"You IDIOT!" Walker shouted, knocking her on the head with his staff. "How COULD you?!"

* * *

"Quick, while it's weakened!" Nikki ordered. " **Gaia Megazord, Storm Punch!** "

The Gaia Zords all leaped up into the air, recombining into the Gaia Megazord before swooping down at the Ant Lightless. The giant robot leveled it with two hard punches filled with fire and lightning, sending it crashing to the ground before a giant wisp of dark flames poured out of its body, causing it to shrink down to size. It groaned as it got back to its feet, looking to make a get-away, only for the Rangers to suddenly drop down in its path.

"Payback time!" Nikki declared, bringing out her Heat Bow. "Let's bring 'em together!"

The rest of the team immediately brought out their own weapons at this command. Dirk set his Quake Ax blunt end down on Layla's Flood Launcher, Nikki's Heat Bow connecting between the two. Patrick then disconnected the two halves of his Storm Lance, he and Madilyn connecting them and her Lightning Daggers onto the bow.

" _ **Gaia Blaster!**_ " the Rangers yelled, holding the massive weapon up and aiming it at the Ant Lightless, who was holding its hands out defensively. " _ **FIRE!**_ "

Pulling the trigger, Layla fired a massive rainbow-coloured blast of their five elements at the monster. Despite its best attempts to hold the blast back, the Ant Lightless' loss of power made it all too easy for the beams to make it through and blast it hard in the chest, causing it to collapse in a large explosion. A black cloud of smoke rose up from where its body once stood, quickly evaporating into the air with the final cry of "I was supposed to be the REAL powerhouse!"

"Sorry, but there's more to fighting than pure power!" Layla replied as the group pulled their weapons apart. "It takes BRAINS!"

* * *

"Yes, it does," Walker noted, turning away from the fireplace. "Something YOU lack, Darkea! No more Lightless for you!"

Darkea moaned, still down to a knee and clutching her head. "Yeah, well, YOUR monsters haven't done much better! I'd like to see YOU beat the Rangers next time!"

Walker smirked evilly, glancing over his shoulder at his sister. "Oh, you still haven't figured it out. How sad."

"Figured WHAT out?" Darkea demanded, getting back to her feet.

"This little experiment was just a means of collecting data on the Rangers," Walker explained, walking over to the cabinet filled with Lightless figurines. "Their weapons, their tactics, and their adaptability on the field. I now have their every move committed to memory."

Darkea scoffed. "Yeah, a lot of good THAT does someone who never got into a fight once in their life."

"True, true," Walker admitted, opening the cabinet and pulling out a figurine. "But the monster I'm going to summon next will be able to take all of my knowledge, and put it to use in the field. Next time, the Power Rangers will be destroyed so utterly, there won't be enough of them left to fill a teaspoon!"

* * *

"Okay, let's give this another try," Layla encouraged, sitting at the table in the main chamber of the Ancient Library.

"Someone wanna tell me why I'M the one testing the communicators out again?" Dirk demanded as he stood on the other side of the room. "I mean, couldn't Nikki get a shot this time?"

"Consider it payment for getting the last word in on the giant monster," Nikki suggested with a shrug. "Besides, you trust Layla, right?"

"Yeah, and I trust my pa, but if he asked me to climb a really tall ledge with no nets or ropes, I'd at least be a LITTLE hesitant," Dirk insisted.

"C'mon, there won't be any ledges this time," Layla assured him. "I figured out what went wrong, and I fixed it. Promise."

"Okay, okay," Dirk said with a sigh. Once again, he formed the mental image of Nikki, then pressed the yellow gem on his communicator, shutting his eyes. When he opened them, he saw that he was, indeed, standing right beside Nikki, all in one piece.

"I-It worked!" Dirk proclaimed. "Man, that was awesome! I totally teleported! And I...suddenly feel a little less tense for some reason."

"Err, Dirk?" Patrick said, pointing over to where he was standing. "I think you lost something."

Dirk turned to look where Patrick was pointing, his face turning beat red. Sure enough, laying on the ground where he once was standing, was a pair of white boxer shorts with little red and orange hearts all over them. With a yelp, he immediately ran over and grabbed them, hiding them in his pocket as the others laughed.

"Okay, so I guess there's still SOME bugs to work out," Layla admitted, easing back into her chair.

"But hey, you got it working at least," Patrick insisted between chuckles.

"Yep, that's my ingenious little sister for ya!" Madilyn proclaimed. "So, any idea what you'll invent ne-"

Madilyn blinked in surprise as a quiet snoring came from her sister. Looking over, she saw that Layla had, in fact, fallen asleep in her chair. The team all smiled, Dirk rolling his eyes and gently scooping her up to take her to her bed. Nikki crossed her arms behind her head, watching as Layla was taken to the bedroom.

_Y'know, Layla's something special,_ the Red Ranger admitted to herself. _She can get kinda scatter-brained and stubborn when she makes mistakes, and she can be a little fragile in combat, but she's got a ton of heart, and knows her way with any kind of tech, from Earth or Gaia. There's no one else I'd want as our Blue Ranger, and I just know we're in good hands with her working on our stuff._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I thought I'd talk a little bit about different inspirations for different characters, attacks, equipment, and whatnot in this story, as well as some of the original ideas I had and how they differ from how things turned out. First off, let's talk about inspirations for the characters. The decision to make the Red Ranger a girl was due to the existence of Lauren. I just like the idea of them having a team of three girls and two boys (even if it didn't last long), so I decided to do it here. Madilyn's character is largely inspired by Haruhi Suzumiya, in that she was head of their club and constantly thinks of herself as being in charge of the others, but she's a bit softer in that she at least is aware of when her friends are sad or depressed and will try to help. Likewise, Patrick is basically the Kyon to her Haruhi, being the one to constantly clash with her and her ideas. Otherwise, Patrick, Dirk, and Layla represent a few stereotypes, but I try to give them more beyond them, particularly their more awesome moments in battle.
> 
> The colour choices for the Ranger suits were based around the rainbow, and so that there would be two Rangers with different colours from the norm. That said, when I was forming this in my head, the original plan was to have Red be Wind, Green be Earth, and Orange be Fire, while instead of Violet for Lightning, it'd be Cyan for Ice. Instead, I went with the rainbow colours, and gave Ice to Layla as a spin-off of Water. Also, I originally planned the Zords to be a Red Falcon, Green Gorilla, Blue Sea Serpent, Orange Salamander, and Cyan Polar Bear, but I decided to go with legendary creatures instead.
> 
> The communicators are obviously a spin off of the ones from MMPR to Turbo, with a more mystical twist. The Crystal Blast Morphers, as I mentioned before, are a hybrid of sorts of the designs from Kyoryuger's (oh, sorry, Dino Charge) morphers and Kamen Rider W's Trigger Magnum. The Gaia Sabers are somewhat inspired by the Crystal Sabers from Wild Force, in that they summon the Zords when the crystals are placed in them, though the aspect of the team being able to mix and match side-arms with each other comes from Super Megaforce. The Gaia Blaster is more or less based off of the Power Blaster, as are the individual weapons, though the Flood Launcher has more in common with the Turbo Cannon from RPM in terms of sheer size.
> 
> One thing I should note about the Behemoth Zord is that it's very much inspired by the Behemoth Heartless from Kingdom Hearts. Sorry if that confused anyone, that's just what I tend to think of when I picture that Zord. Otherwise, as I said before, the Ninja MegaFalconzord was used as a base for the design of the Gaia Megazord (although with the Hippogriff Zord acting in place of the Falcon and Crane Ninja Zords), and it therefore has similar dimensions. The Storm Punch is also quite similar to its finishing attack, though it will be gaining new and more powerful attacks as time goes on.
> 
> Oh, and one last note: It's been brought to my attention that the reason ants can lift several times their own weight actually has more to do with the Square/Cube Law that allows them this feat BECAUSE they're so small. However, for the purposes of this story, the dark energy the Ant Lightless was filled with allowed it to bypass this law, effectively granting it such strength despite its size. The reason for keeping it an Ant Lightless is for the symbolism behind it. Also, this is Power Rangers, where spandex can apparently prevent someone from being sliced in half, instead sending sparks off the person's body. Logic got tossed out the window with the first episode.
> 
> Next time on Power Rangers Guardians of Gaia, Madilyn struggles with her continued image of herself as the leader of the team, while they find themselves facing a foe that knows their every move. The secret to defeating him may rest in Madilyn's hands, as well as in a new Gaia Zord. Ja né!


End file.
